Jang's Execution may hit China-DPRK projects
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E-mail China Daily, December 14, 2013
The execution of the uncle of Pyongyang's top leader may temporarily affect some cooperation projects with China, but economic ties between the neighbors will remain stable in the long run, analysts say.
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Jang Song-thaek (L) and China’s former Minister of Commerce Chen Deming launched joint projects last August in Beijing. [File photo] |
![Jang Song-thaek (L) and China’s former Minister of Commerce Chen Deming launched joint projects last August in Beijing. [File photo]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20131214/001ec949ffa01416021e01.jpg "Jang Song-thaek (L) and China’s former Minister of Commerce Chen Deming launched joint projects last August in Beijing. [File photo]")
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea's official news agency KCNA reported on Friday that Jang Song-thaek, uncle of supreme leader Kim Jong-un, was executed on Thursday for being a traitor.
Jang was in charge of economic affairs and cooperation with China.
"Following Jang's execution, the DPRK is likely to review cooperation projects with China," said Gao Haorong, an expert on DPRK studies at the Xinhua Center for World Affairs Studies, a think tank under Xinhua News Agency.
Jang led delegations to China for negotiations on economic projects, including Hwanggumpyong Island, a special economic zone near Dandong in Liaoning province.
Chen Qi, a professor in international affairs at Tsinghua University, said that after Jang's execution, China and the DPRK may need some time to rebuild connections to continue cooperation on such projects and to further their economic cooperation.
But Wang Junsheng, a researcher in East Asian studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the impact will be short-term and limited.
"Pyongyang needs China to support its economic development, and this offers opportunities for Chinese companies, so both sides want to advance ties," Wang said.
"Both countries have the will to consolidate their relations, given frequent high-level visits," he said.
The latest such exchange saw Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Zhang Kunsheng meet a visiting delegate from the DPRK's Foreign Ministry on Friday.
At a news briefing on Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said China hopes and believes that economic relations between the two countries will continue to advance.
Hong said it is in line with the interests of both to develop economic ties. China will further promote economic cooperation with the DPRK.
He described Jang's execution as "an internal affair" of the DPRK.
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