North Korea-China relations has been described by analysts as complex and strategic. (KCNA via Reuters)
Tasha Wibawa, ABC News Online: China and North Korea's 'blood alliance' has complicated the chances of reunification
North Korea's relationship with China has been historically described as akin to "lips and teeth", in that the nations cannot function without each other.
The Chinese saying refers to the country's 70-year relationship dating back to the Korean War of 1950-1953, when the Soviet Union and China supported North Korea as its army invaded South Korea.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, China has been described by analysts as "the most important country sustaining North Korea", but the historic "blood alliance" — a term used to describe their relationship dating back to North Korean supreme leader Kim Il-sung, and Chairman Mao Zedong — has been far more complicated.
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WNU Editor: What China and Kim Jong-un may want is one thing. What the people in North Korea may want is another. For the moment the status quo is being maintained through threats and force, but if history is any guide, when a population wants something else they usually get it. The North Koreans are now being exposed to the outside world, and I am sure there is a hunger to live that type of life instead of the one that they have been living through all their lives. The question is .... when will that happen, and the role that South Korea will play.
