North Korea and China Oppose Washington Declaration... Will They Take Economic Sanctions and Nuclear Tests?

North Korea and China are strongly opposing the 'Washington Declaration' following President Yoon Suk-yeol's visit to the United States. They are threatening South Korea with harsh rhetoric such as 'nightmare' and 'a costly price.' Experts predict that China's economic sanctions or North Korea's seventh nuclear test may follow. However, Vice Minister of National Defense Shin Beom-chul urged China to join in restraining North Korea's nuclear ambitions, stating, "China could have prevented this situation."

On the 2nd, Vice Minister Shin said on SBS's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' "What China needs to do now for peace in Northeast Asia and the international community is to prevent North Korea from developing nuclear weapons," and questioned, "Since the 2018 inter-Korean summit and North Korea-China summit, even if North Korea conducts intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests, who has been blocking new sanctions?"

After the Washington Declaration, China has threatened retaliation by North Korea, China, and Russia through state-run media. However, Vice Minister Shin said, "China is blocking new sanctions by expressing its intention to exercise veto power, which is further escalating the North Korean nuclear threat," and added, "China should focus its diplomatic policy on achieving North Korea's denuclearization and easing tensions in Northeast Asia."

There are also forecasts that China, which holds significant influence over the South Korean economy, may resort to subtle forms of retaliation. Professor Lee Wook-yeon of Sogang University's Department of Chinese Culture said on MBC's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus,' "According to recent media reports, China has started a comprehensive investigation into which country's semiconductors are used by Chinese companies importing semiconductors," and added, "They have not explicitly said, 'Do not use Korean semiconductors,' but if the government signals that, companies understand the message."

He expressed concern, saying, "Economic measures similar to THAAD could be implemented in this way," and "China will claim that it was not involved in such actions, but since economic weapons are China's strength, such pressure could be applied."

North Korea is also highly likely to engage in strong provocations. On the 29th of last month, North Korea's Kim Byung-jang issued a statement describing the Washington Declaration as "the concentrated product of the most hostile and aggressive anti-DPRK policy." He added, "It has created an environment that compels us to take corresponding, more decisive actions," and "We reaffirmed the fact that we must be more perfect in enhancing nuclear war deterrence, especially the second mission of deterrence."

Jung Sung-jang, head of the Unification Strategy Research Division at the Sejong Institute, interpreted Kim Byung-jang's remarks as "going beyond simple war deterrence to unifying South Korea by force through nuclear use," and analyzed, "Therefore, North Korea is expected to conduct more overt tactical nuclear use training aimed at South Korea, simulating full-scale war, and forcibly carry out the seventh nuclear test using tactical nuclear warheads at an appropriate time, continuously increasing the intensity of military threats."

Nevertheless, within the ruling party, there is a positive atmosphere evaluating the Washington Declaration as effectively producing a nuclear sharing effect. Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the People Power Party, responded to a question about the meaning of the Washington Declaration on MBC's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus,' saying, "There are six countries in the Asia-Pacific region allied militarily with the United States, but South Korea is the only one with whom nuclear consultations have become possible," and assessed that South Korea has surpassed Japan.

Yoo Sang-beom, also of the People Power Party, said on SBS's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' "The U.S. has repeatedly reassured South Korea by saying it provides a nuclear umbrella and extended deterrence, but there is a big difference between mere rhetoric and when it is documented like this," and added, "From the moment it is documented, the U.S. has made a global promise to upgrade the mutual defense treaty, which includes nuclear weapons, as stated in that document."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.