China Uses North Korea as ‘Buffer State’ to Distract US in Region: Mike Pompeo

China Uses North Korea as ‘Buffer State’ to Distract US in Region: Mike Pompeo
This combination of file pictures shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (L) being broadcast on a large video screen in Tokyo; Chinese leader Xi Jinping (C), and U.S. President Donald Trump Fred Dufour, Brendan Smialowski, Toru Yamanaka/AFP/Getty Images
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Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on July 13 that China deters North Korea from participating in denuclearization efforts pursued by the U.S. government because Beijing “benefits from Chairman Kim [Jong Un] continuing to hold his nuclear weapons.”

During a video interview at the Asian Leadership Conference (ALC) in Seoul, South Korea, a summit hosted by South Korean media Chosun IlboPompeo said that the Chinese regime uses Pyongyang as “an important buffer state,” because Washington then has to spend energies to defend East Asia against North Korea’s nuclear weapons systems.
Nicole Hao
Nicole Hao
Author
Nicole Hao is a Washington-based reporter focused on China-related topics. Before joining the Epoch Media Group in July 2009, she worked as a global product manager for a railway business in Paris, France.
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