Why does the People's Republic of China continue to support the Democratic People's Republic of Korea?

This paper analyses the relationship between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). It contends that the PRC's national focus on economic growth has translated into a deliberate, 'geopolitical stability' strategy to maintain the status quo of a divided Korean Peninsula, with reunification and denuclearisation as secondary policy objectives.

It concludes that even though there are economic, diplomatic and credibility costs for the PRC in continuing to support the DPRK, it will continue to do so for as long as Beijing assesses that support for the DPRK will maintain the status quo on the Korean Peninsula and that the status quo is required to underwrite the PRC's ability to grow its economy and military power, and resolve internal issues.

This paper was also published in the Indo-Pacific Strategic Digest series.

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