If that is your calculation, how would you convince SK not to have Nukes?
because US has supreme command and control of SK military operations during war-time, so how can SK pursue independent nuclear deterrence if has ceded military sovereignty to US?
SK covert nuclear program was shut down by US in the mid-1970's after the downfall of South Vietnam. Park Chung Hee as early as 1976 publicly stated SK's ambition for nuclear deterrence after US withdrawal from Vietnam, but CIA squashed SK ambitions in 1970's. Just as Taiwan's covert nuclear program was shut down by CIA around the same time period.
China doesn't need to convince SK to not go nuclear, the US is already doing it pretty effectively. US doesn't want SK to go nuclear using the "me too" doctrine, because it will set a bad precedent for other US allies and enemies like Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey to say "me too" (vs. Israel). US does gain leverage if it denies SK it's own independent nukes.
The "above" is a story from SK news. I have never heard Xi say so in 2017, not in any Chinese official media. You can search for Chinese source for that quotation of Xi and see if he said so and when and where.
The above story cites
(청와대/靑瓦臺) (ie. "Blue House" or South Korea President's Executive Office) as providing the original transcripts of the conversation between Xi Jinping and Moon Jae-in.
According to Cheong Wa Dae, Xi Jinping said, “China has maintained a blood alliance with North Korea. There have been many changes, yet the relationship has not changed fundamentally.” (July 11, 2017)
It cannot get more "official" than Cheong Dae Wae, which is the South Korean equivalent of the "White House", Cheong Dae Wae is the executive office and residence of SK President.
Why it is not published by Chinese media? There is no official release of transcripts from Chinese MoF to fact check what Cheong Dae Wae has reported, and unofficial Chinese diplomatic channels has said Xi Jinping used the term “xian xue ning cheng" (relationship formed through fresh blood) instead of "xue meng" (blood alliance) but the common Korean translation for “xian xue ning cheng" is “dong maeng,” which literally means “blood alliance.” So, even if Xi didn’t use the word “blood alliance,” it would mean “blood alliance,” when translated into Korean.
Furthermore, the
Korean Herald is one of the most reputable newspapers in SK, and if it's published in an
Editorial of Korean Herald, and even cites Cheong Dae Wae, it is pretty credible in my opinion.
What was broadly reported was Foreign Minister Wang Yi and MoF spoke person repeatedly referring the China-NK relationship as "normal country to country" since 2016. I trust Chinese MoF more than SK news paper.
Do you read Xinhua or MoF publications? Foreign Minister Wang Yi has referred to "lips and teeth" atleast two (2) times in the start of 2017.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi was quoted invoking the "as close as lips and teeth" as recently as March, 2017 at the beginning of DPRK missile provcations.
"The nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula is mainly between the DPRK and the United States. China is a next-door neighbor
with a lips-and-teeth relationship with the peninsula, so we're indispensable to the resolution of the nuclear issue."
- Foreign Minister Wang Yi
Source:
Wang said the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula is mainly between the DPRK and the United States, but China, as a
next-door neighbor with a lips-and-teeth relationship with the Peninsula, is indispensable to the resolution of the issue.
Source:
Mar, 2017
FM Wang Yi, 'the lips', undoubtedly transmitted an authorized message from China to North Korea:
"The offer is (still) on the table and China supports it." The first NK ballistic missile test since Trump's inauguration started in April, 2017. The timing could not be more important.
Now Chinese President Xi Jinping invoked "blood alliance" (to SK President's face no less!) and FM Wang Yi invoked "lips and teeth", it's clear where China's position on the alliance is. China will never abandon DPRK to a pro-US unified Korea.
