The strange case of China and S Korea

China offers a plan to deal with North Korea: Will it work?

[Christian Science Monitor]
Ben Rosen
Christian Science MonitorMarch 9, 2017

After nearly a decade away from the negotiating table, China has a proposal to lure North and South Korea and the United States back.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday that North Korea should suspend its nuclear and missile programs, while South Korea and the US should put a pause on the major military exercises they hold in the region each year.  

Most analysts consider China’s proposal, on its face, to be a nonstarter. It's been tried before. But the context may be different enough that even trotting out an old idea may offer a path to progress. And the timing is relevant, coming just ahead of US secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s first visit to the region, from March 15-19. 

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