When it comes to North Korea, the US should stop pointing fingers and act

Lee Seong-hyon, scmp.com

Image from article, with caption: The much-touted “Chinese influence on North Korea” is also an overused term that should be scrutinised.

Excerpt:

China should end its “business as usual” attitude with North Korea, US Secretary of State John Kerry warned foreign minister Wang Yi (王毅). This is another familiar, if not “business as usual”, take on North Korea. Every time North Korea makes international headlines, Washington points a finger at China. This Pavlovian response should stop. On North Korea, the US, not China, should lead. ...

The widespread “North Korea is China’s problem to fix” narrative is a brilliant piece of US public diplomacy that warrants serious soul-searching, because relying on the tactic of buck-passing goes against the very spirit of what America stands for.

During his State of the Union address, Obama proclaimed: “When it comes to every important international issue, people of the world do not look to Beijing or Moscow to lead. They call us.” Exactly. Now, we look forward to it.