Beijing and the 1961 PRC-DPRK Security Treaty

Abstract

This thesis addresses the continuation of PRC-North Korean alliance even though significant changes have emerged in international security environment. Numerous studies have focused on the decreased strategic value of North Korea with respect to Chinese national interests, but Pyongyang still serves as stepping stone for China to expand its leverage. China's national objectives of maintaining its leverage in Northeast Asia indicates that Beijing will maintain the 1961 alliance to assure its security interests. By examining the formation of PRC-DPRK alliance, this thesis assesses the characteristics of their alliance and analyzes the evolution in Beijing's approach to Pyongyang by explaining how transitions in the security environment have affected their alliance. This thesis concludes that, for China, the rationale for maintaining the PRC-DPRK alliance is to guarantee China's national interests, not to sustain its traditional "sealed in blood" relationship.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 2010
Accession Number
ADA536524

Entities

People

  • Chanhyun Nam

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter WMD
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Economic Systems
  • Foreign Relations
  • Globalization
  • Intergovernmental Organizations
  • International Organizations
  • International Relations
  • International Security
  • Investments
  • Market Economy
  • National Politics
  • National Security
  • North Korea
  • Political Systems
  • Recreation
  • Social Sciences
  • Sociopolitics
  • Treaties

Readers

  • International Relations, focusing on Korea-Africa and North Korea-South Korea relations, and Nigeria-Latin American Relations.
  • Strategic Security Studies