China Playing a Bigger ‘Game’ Than Just North Korea

Is China using North Korea as a trap to stifle American support for Taiwan?

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Chinese leader Xi Jinping inspect honor guards as Kim paid an unofficial visit to Beijing in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang on March 28, 2018. KCNA/via Reuters

Since the latest denuclearization talks between the United States and North Korea broke down in February, Kim Jong Un has threatened to restart his nuclear program. Is the threat directed at the United States? Are the North Koreans playing hardball with the United States?

Or, is their nuclear threat possibly directed at China? That’s not likely, is it? Is Kim going to threaten China with ... what? Nuclear attack? Cooperation with the United States? Probably not. His aim is more likely about receiving additional assistance from China.