I hope Beijing can put Moscow under its thumb. Russia is radioactive. The last thing Xi wants is an emboldened Pyongyang—he has managed Kim adeptly for years. Constraining it without setting off its nukes is the Congress of Vienna of the 21st century.
What a sad tale for a great culture, albeit a modern empire.
Well we've heard this story for years about Africa, that the evil PRC is scheming and building the railroads there and handing out loans as a part of some evil "coercive effort"[1] to get poor Africa under its thumb. It could be true, what do I know? It's a great question why they do it and what happens next. But so far I really fail to see the "evil" part of it materialize.
It is much more than that; NK is China's "pawn which can be promoted to a queen" if and when a nuke war happens. That is the only aim of its existence.
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What a sad tale for a great culture, albeit a modern empire.