Analysts Believe China Spy Balloon Controversy Could Impact Korean Peninsula

Here are what Korea experts are saying about the China spy balloon controversy:

Cho Han-bum, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said an intensifying U.S.-Sino rivalry is not favorable to the security situation on the peninsula, adding, “We would see China’s role regarding North Korea’s nuclear issue diminishing following the balloon saga.”

Cho said it is noteworthy that South Korea and the U.S. staged combined air drills involving strategic bombers and stealth fighters over the West Sea, which is right under China’s nose. 

“South Korea and the U.S. conducted combined air drills, involving B-1B strategic bombers, and F-22, F-35A and F-35B stealth jets, over the West Sea on Feb. 1. Two days later, another drill with the stealth fighters occurred, which is unprecedented,” he said.

“Given that the U.S. first detected the balloon on Jan. 28, the drills served as a U.S. warning to China in response to the spy balloon.”

Bruce Klingner, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said China has always been part of the North Korean problem rather than part of the solution. 

“Beijing would occasionally allow incremental stronger U.N. resolutions in response to egregious North Korean provocations only to subsequently turn a blind eye to violations of those resolutions by Chinese entities,” he said.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but Bruce Klingner is right, China has no intentions of resolving the North Korean nuclear issue. They are more than happy to pretend to be trying to solve the issue from time to time without actually doing anything.

I think North Korea knows that China will more publicly have its back at the UN making it more likely they will go ahead with more provocative ICBM and nuclear tests in the future.