The development and change of Sino-DPRK relations is a tortuous and complicated process. Before 1965, Sino-North Korean relations were relatively stable, but then rifts appeared and gradually deteriorated, and it was not until October 1969 that relations began to warm up after Cui Yongjian's visit to China.
It was not until 1970 that relations between China and North Korea and the two parties officially returned to normal. The reason for the deterioration in relations between China and North Korea is largely due to North Korea's "wall-riding" policy, which oscillates between China and the Soviet Union, rather than explicitly supporting China. This led to a rapid deterioration in relations between the two sides.
At the same time, North Korea's attitude and stance toward the Soviet Union were also at odds with China, and the Moscow Conference of 1965 marked the dissolution of the international communist movement, while North Korea became closer to the Soviet Union, which ran counter to China's position and increased tensions between China and North Korea.
North Korea became dissatisfied with China during this period and accused China of undermining the unity of the socialist camp and bringing bilateral relations between China and North Korea to a freezing point. The DPRK received substantial benefits from the Soviet Union through a series of initiatives.
On June 20, the Soviet Union and the DPRK signed an agreement on new technologies for economic cooperation, and the Soviet Union provided assistance to the DPRK in the form of enterprises, projects, and loans. At the same time, Kim Il, first deputy prime minister of the DPRK Cabinet, visited Moscow and signed the "Agreement on Further Strengthening the DPRK's National Defense Capability."
In August 1968, the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia, and the Chinese side strongly **, while the DPRK acquiesced and even praised.
The ideological differences between China and North Korea are on display in a dramatic scene: the Chinese side hangs a sign on the roof of the embassy in North Korea that reads "Anti-imperialism must oppose revision," while North Korea erects a sign across the road that reads "Resolutely Safeguard the Unity of the Socialist Camp."
This shows that China and North Korea have serious differences in the ideological field, which has led to a sharp deterioration in bilateral relations. However, the top leaders of China and North Korea have never given up on efforts to restore relations.
In November 1966, shortly after the departure of the DPRK ambassador to China, a new ambassador was appointed Hyun Jun-ji, and on June 16, 1967, Hyun Jun-ji officially rushed to China to take up his post, and on the 20th, he presented his credentials to the Chinese side, and the Chinese side responded quickly, understanding that this was a signal from Kim Il Sung.
Changes in the world situation have also contributed to the warming of China-DPRK relations. In October 1967, Mauritania's **Dadach visited China and met with him.
** Let Dadakh convey to Kim Il Sung that deviations in the work of the embassy can be corrected at any time, that the policy towards Cambodia and North Korea is the same, and that the anti-imperialist struggle is supported.
After Dadah concluded his visit to the DPRK, he conveyed four messages from Kim Il Sung to *** in Beijing: The DPRK's policy towards China will not change;Kim Il Sung cherishes friendship with *** and ***;Differences between the two sides exist, but they can be resolved through meeting and discussion;When North Korea is attacked, it is believed that China will fight alongside North Korea.
In January 1968, North Korea sent special forces to attack the South Korean government, and then captured the American spy ship "Pueblo", which made the situation in the Far East tense for an instant. China immediately issued a statement in support of North Korea.
In February, a message was sent to Kim Il Sung through others, hoping that China and North Korea would put aside their differences and normalize relations, while promising that China would give it its full support, creating an opportunity to improve relations between China and North Korea. In the spring of 1969, two major events occurred, which created objective conditions for the warming of Sino-DPRK relations.
The first was on March 2, when an armed conflict broke out between China and the Soviet Union on Zhenbao Island, which, although small in scale, pushed the two countries to the extreme.
Second, on 15 April, the DPRK shot down a large US EC-121 electronic reconnaissance plane, killing all 31 members of the board.
Against the backdrop of renewed tension on the Korean Peninsula, China and the DPRK have once again opened the door to the normalization of China-DPRK relations out of common security considerations. On May 1, 1969, at a meeting with foreign envoys at the Tiananmen Gate, he expressed China's willingness to improve relations with other countries in the world.
Since June, China has sent groups of envoys to various parts of the world, and embassies abroad have resumed normal work, and since then the DPRK has not sent representatives to Moscow to attend meetings of the World Workers' Party and the Communist Party. The death of Ho Chi Minh on September 3, 1969 provided a new opportunity for direct talks between the leaders of China and North Korea.
Cui Yongjian, who was on his way to Vietnam to attend the funeral, said as he passed through Beijing that he wanted to hold talks with the Chinese leader. Finally, on September 10 and 11, Cui Yongjian held talks with ***. Kim Il Sung later said that the two sides had not reached a consensus and had not achieved results.
However, according to Chinese sources, Choe Yong-jian conveyed Kim Il Sung's desire to improve relations between China and North Korea and expressed his opposition to the Soviet Union's proposal for a system of collective security in Asia. This marks the end of the old suspicions and the handshake of peace. After Cui Yongjian's visit to China, Sino-DPRK relations have improved rapidly.
**Invited to visit North Korea, this is the first foreign visit by a Chinese leader in recent years, and it is also the first visit to North Korea in 12 years. ** Met with Kim Il Sung for a total of 14 hours in four sessions, during which the two sides met frankly, emphasized consensus, avoided differences, and expressed their desire to unite and fight the enemy together.
DPRK Deputy Prime Minister Pak Sung-chol was warmly welcomed during his visit to China on June 25, 1969,** during which he said that Comrade Kim Il Sung and I have been friends for many years, and there is no great difficulty that cannot be overcome.
All this paved the way for Kim Il Sung's secret visit to China in October. During Kim Il Sung's visit to China, he had a very pleasant conversation with Kim Il Sung. During the talks on October 8, the two sides first criticized themselves, and Kim Il Sung hoped for assistance from the Chinese side and agreed.
Speaking about relations between the DPRK and the Soviet Union, ** said that the DPRK would not be dissuaded from breaking with the Soviet Union, considering that the DPRK needed military and economic assistance from the Soviet Union. At this point, the two old friends finally let go of their previous suspicions and shook hands. After Kim Il Sung's visit to China, Sino-DPRK relations warmed up rapidly.
On October 17, China and the DPRK signed the Agreement on China's Economic and Technical Assistance to the DPRK in Beijing. Although the two sides eventually reunited, North Korea was not one-sided and still pursued a policy of equidistant diplomacy with China and the Soviet Union, which means that the differences between China and North Korea have only been put on hold, not eliminated.
In short, when China's foreign strategy undergoes major changes, China-North Korea relations will bring many uncertainties. As we all know, with the gradual thaw in relations between China and the United States, this will have a new impact on Sino-North Korean relations.