North Korea a Nuclear Stooge for China?

North Korea a Nuclear Stooge for China?

Wes Vernon, NewsMax.com
Friday, Jan. 17, 2003

WASHINGTON – A former high-ranking intelligence officer says China may be building up North Korea’s nuclear strength to threaten the U.S. away from its commitment to protect Taiwan from Red China’s attempted takeover. He warns the United States to bear in mind that much of the deadly threat from rogue states can be traced to Chinese-instigated nuclear proliferation.

“Beijing’s willingness to sell and transfer critical components of WMD [weapons of mass destruction] technology makes China directly or indirectly a key component of the global proliferation of nuclear and missile technology,” according to Thomas Woodrow, onetime senior analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).

In a report prepared for the Jamestown Foundation, Woodrow informs us that though "Beijing may have had its political reasons for assisting Pakistan and North Korea, in doing so, it has opened the Pandora’s box of regional nuclear arms race.”

Apparently, other nations are taking note of this. Some have reacted by accelerating or contemplating their own nuclear buildups:

The Indian Defense Ministry, for example, has publicly stated it sees China as India’s “primary strategic threat.” Thus, New Delhi is designing its longer-range Agni missiles specifically for nuclear deterrence against China.

Caught in a Pacific neighborhood threatened by Chinese and North Korean nuclear and missile efforts, Japan, the one nation in the world with firsthand experience at being on the wrong end of a nuclear attack, will “undoubtedly” activate its own nascent nuclear weapons program, possibly devoting some of its launches from Kagashima to military purposes.

South Korea already has “a half-hidden” missile program under way.

Taiwan – Free China, constantly threatened by the mainland communist behemoth – developed medium-range missiles in the 1980s and was well on its way toward nuclear capability. But then the U.S., desiring the role of peacemaker, pressured it to stop some 20 years ago. Now, Taipei will likely rethink its need for a nuclear deterrent.

The nuke race is spreading also to hostile anti-U.S. states such Iran, Libya and Syria.

Our Saudi 'Ally'

Then there is Saudi Arabia, which Woodrow believes may be funding much of Pakistan’s missile and nuclear efforts and could become a nuclear power overnight through an airlift of missiles. Saudia Arabia, though vowing its alliance with the U.S., has been a source of support for the al-Qaeda terrorist apparatus.

Taking stock of all of this proliferation, one has to ask: Why is Beijing willing to help create the regional instability it claims it wants to avoid? After all, it could be fulfilling its own paranoia of encirclement as Asia worries over Beijing’s penchant for throwing its economic and military weight around. (See NewsMax series on Harry Wu’s book “Troublemaker.” Also previous article on Chinese relations with North Korea.)

The Jamestown Foundation study attributes this “mostly” to political blundering, “spurred on by “shortsighted greed.”

Then again – attention, U.S. policymakers! – “Perhaps Beijing plans to use Pyongyang as a lever against Washington in the event of a decision to launch an attack against Taipei.”

Whatever the motivation, China’s rampant proliferation of WMD has created an arms race “that cannot now be stopped.”

Beijing will soon “reap the rewards of its ill-considered policies.” That will come when India, Japan and South Korea accelerate or reactivate indigenous missile and nuclear weapons programs.

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
China/Taiwan
Middle East
North Korea
Editor's note:
Chinese Military Manual Calls for "Unrestricted" War Against America