Didn't North Korea's nuclear technology come from China in the first place though?

Nukes technology is not something which is difficult to make. Many third world countries can produce Nukes if there is a will.

The US can now easily do 2 things to back out of this blind alley.

1st) Press on working and developing a defensive missile shield. They have the beginnings in place. Fund several skunk-works to design, develop and deploy multiple and varied systems while fleshing out, finalizing and deploying more of their already existing world leading designs.

2nd) Publicly let the Chinese and North Koreans know that the US will both allow and assist in helping the Japanese and the South Koreans to develop, obtain and build their own Nuclear Weapons for strictly "defensive purposes". We can allow this via inaction and via turning a blind eye as Japan steals the plans from Iran who bought it from North Korea who bought it from the USSR scientists. Simple. Much like China and North Korea work it today. Once the US has helped them to achieve this objective, the US will be able to pull back from active military participation, (and also tuck all that extra conventional military $$ in their pocket and better fund their own defensive shield) and let both SE Asian countries deal with North Korea and China as equals. Of course, we would still a defensive treaty partner with both of them. We don't have to be the Hegemon. Win-win-win boom.

Or perhaps China and North Korea may be interested in another path which we can better explore before we all choose that path.....?

I completely agree. But you forgot one thing: Across the board tariffs on all Chinese imports, going up at 5% a month, until they curb their rabid dog.

Off topic discussions should be deleted. Come on PRC and USA guys, this is too important for who stole what from who fingerpointing

Personally, I think that Chariman Xi and Tsaritsa Putin would like nothing better than to use NK as a proxy to do what they dare not do, drop an H-bomb on a major U.S. city like NY or an EMP nuke to black out the USA, leaving it defenseless. Then they will claim, disingenuously, that it was NK, not them, and Kim who performed this dastardly deed and pick up the pieces to their advantage. If Trump figures this out, he will act, PRC and Soviet Union wannabe notwithstanding. Dangerous times.

"Taking up a similar thesis as Wang Xiaobo mentioned above, Yan mentions
the possibility that China should extend nuclear security guarantees
[核保护伞] to North Korea if it agrees to denuclearization."

Ahhh -- the "Budapest Memorandum Solution"... it worked so well for Ukraine. Do these guys not read the papers? Cuz you can bet DPRK does.

The question that is never, ever asked, but needs to be: Under what conditions could the US consider an honorable withdrawal of our forces from South Korea, and what peaceful pathways would have to happen for us to get to that point? This needs to be seriously discussed, for this is the ONLY WAY that Korea could be unified and neutralized as a dangerous flash point and irritant.

I suspect that if a US withdrawal were on the table, the Chinese would become far more open to the idea of ending the DPRK regime and facilitating a peaceful reunification with the ROK. I very much doubt that China would view a unified Korea under the ROK regime but minus a US presence to be much of a threat at all.

For this to work, there would have to be a strong set of multilateral security guarantees to Korea, and maybe Korea would have to become an armed neutral like Switzerland. Then there is the little matter of getting the Kim family out of the way. . .

"Scholars" don't come up with reasonable rationalizations for defending a fat psycho who has starved millions of his own people to death while enriching and empowering his socialist dynasty. China also sends military and nuclear assistance to Iran. The PRC does not behave like a friendly trading partner (say, Holland or Brazil), and that it's government is so prepared to back a dangerous, aggressive loon like Kim should be raising red flags about our relationship with the PRC.

Very useful background info. Two big takeaways: they don't want to be an enemy of NK, they don't like what Fatso does. They seem like our talking heads, but with more diversity, to their credit. In the end they do not influence policy. Policy is the result of balancing the political head of state (Xi), and the Chinese shadow government. As an example if there are electronics made by companies owned by the Chinese military in the NK devices, Xi would be unable to stop it just like Trump cannot stop Mueller investigations. The situation is in some ways similar to Prez Trump and his shadow government which repeatedly throw monkey wrenches.

As the author stated early, the situation is very complex. Net result, they cannot do anything under current circumstances. Perhaps Trump senses this and gives Xi credit for trying. At the same time he bashes China, maybe meaning all those other shadow government interests.

Xi and Trump need a genius to find a workable common ground. Meanwhile Fatso makes progress faster than the path to a common ground.😢

Why would NK give up nuclear weapons? Without it, the country will be subjected to regime change
Fatty Kim will end up like Saddam or Qaddafi

China plays the long game. Taiwan. Hong Kong. Tibet. And yes, South Korea. Their play there has to go through Pyongyang, obviously. So don't expect the Chinese to help anybody "solve" the North Korea problem. That's the last thing they want.

Thank you for the survey. It might be useful to annotate a bit more. For example, Yan Xuetong has sometimes been characterized as the most influential scholar, with influence with Xi Jinping. In the author's view, is that true? Shi Yinhong is likewise thought of as influential or at least a regular at international conferences as is Shen Dingli.

It should also be noted that more so than in the U.S. experts in China and most other Asian countries have a higher status and have degrees of influence.

Apparently, Ch!nks and G00ks like their food to be nuked, Western-style that is. Ever had glow in the dark Chop Suey or Kal-bi?

It is all very simple:
North Korea is China's Luca Brazzi -- it's hired thug to do its dirty for her, without having China's name on it.
This work has three parts:
1. Keep the U.S. geographically away from China's border
2. Make life hard for South Korea and, if possible, aim for unification under China, a la Hong Kong, and avoid another Taiwan.
3.But third and not talked about; NK is doing China's dirty work as a budding Empire: Selling Nukes to Pakistan, Iran, and Syria, selling Silkworm missiles and fibre optics to Hezbollah, and all other kinds of nasty stuff. As I said, a Luca Brazzi.
If Xi restrains North Korea, he will have a hard time with the hardliners around him, who are long-term imperialists-- as he is.
How should the U.S. react?
There is of course only one way:
Get China's banks out of Swift, kick out Chinese rich folks' sons and daughters from the US., put on tariffs, and in general tank China's economy and prevent its richest from enjoying the fruit of their assets.
This of course will also tank the U.S. stock market and economy, which is why the Globalists will fiercely resist it. But it must be done, both for the U.S sake, and yes, for China. Because only when / if this is done, could Xi have ammunition to go to his hardliners and say, I got to retrain NK. Until that moment, nothing will be done. The U.S. has to tank China's economy without pulling any punches.

Why dont we teach these slant eyes how to drive instead of asking them their views on North Korea?

Why don't we teach these round eyes how to avoid US navy ships bumping into asian cargo ship 4 times in less than 6 months?

Just admit you slant eyes are embarrassing behind the wheel of a car?
And, a slant eye was probably driving the ship those 4 times.

Just hope no more US commander being relieved from the seat after 4 bad driving accidents in less than 6 months.
KKK Open your eyes when you're on the seat, don't add up to the bad statistics.

Learn to speak English, you slant eye mutt.

OIC! Round eye can only speak english.

Yes, we run the world. Get used to it

The KKK world? UK, EU, South America, Asia or Africa?

You slant eyes are communist loving pigs

Wrong again KKK. Shot in the dark again? I suggest you turn on the light while on the wheel if you don't want to be a statistic.

So nobody agrees with anybody? Sounds about right.

Its very easy to keep peace: americans just have to stay in America, not wandering around the world 5000 miles from US and scream about national security. Pacific border of US is California not N.Korea. Most ridiculous is US "training" of bombardment of N.Korea near Japan. US is fine trained during Korean war 1953.

When my kids were really little, the phrase most commonly heard around the house was "When you scream, you don't get what you want." It should be obvious that ignoring that dictum will do little but teach the kids that screaming is a useful tactic.

Kim Jong-un is a screaming brat. The US can't reward his screaming because it will just teach him, and every other country on the planet, that nuclear screaming gets them what they want. And it seems to me that China needs to come to the same conclusion--that catering to the screaming brat on their border really isn't in their best interests, even he's useful in embarrassing the US.

Seriously ? You call these Communist fake-scholars scholars?

I thought all Chinese scholars were liquidated during the march along Mao's Golden Path...

Blah, blah, blah... Who is giving NK nuke and missile tech ?

The Clinton administration, circa 1990's.

I believe those are Chinese characters on the missiles kimosabi

The problem with the "China must accept a Nuclearized North Korea and see that it is not hostile to China" approach is it overlooks the consequences. Yes China might be able to accept a nuclear armed North Korea and treat with it to avoid hostilities. But doing so Guarantees a Nuclear armed South Korea and Japan that DO view China as hostile. Is that an acceptable outcome to China? South Korea and Japan are both economic and technological juggernauts. Japan already has all the pieces needed for nuclear weapons. They've just never brought them all together. Tokyo could be a well armed nuclear power by the spring if not sooner. South Korea essentially just asked Trump to return US Nuclear weapons to South Korean soil. That's what "the highest levels of US Deterence" means. It's not just THAAD. South Korea already has the facilities to house and manage US Nuclear weapons. They were there until 1991. They can be brought back in a matter of days.

China's options are not so cut and dry as these experts seem to think.

South Korea and Japan is as hostile to China as its US boss. Not that big a deal when the boss already has thousands of nuclear missiles pointing at you. Don't think nuclear blackmailing with S.Korea and Japan works against China, as having nuclear weapon only makes harder for the US to control the two.

If the Chinese scholars are as out of touch with the real world as are ours, the entire piece is meaningless.

Chinese scholars = party hacks who are able to buy a fancy cape and a microphone.

Look at the awesome credentials of the author: "Lyle J. Goldstein is Professor of Strategy in the China Maritime
Studies Institute (CMSI) at the United States Naval War College in
Newport RI." This not some zany leftist. He presents a complete range of Chinese scholars' opinions on North Korea.

However, I wish Mr. Goldstein tweeted because he is a scholar. I tweeted his article...lol..

Should have pushed harder during the Korean War, this issue could have been settled/prevented back then. I'm not sure if it's too late to do something now, but if there is a military option, the US should take it. This isn't going to get better otherwise, no chance NK will slow down or reverse it's nuclear ambitions. No chance! If there isn't a military option, then US should station nuclear missiles in SK, I am not aware if it already has done so or not.

We did push harder during the Korean War, and that is probably the reason the whole thing is the way it is today. MacArthur was supposed to push the Communists out of South Korea and stop at the 38th parallel. Instead, he decided to take all of Korea without permission from Truman and told his people there was no way China would enter the war. He then sent them racing for the Yalu and into a huge killing zone set up by the Chinese, who saw them coming and set the trap. One of the great military blunders in our history that poisoned our relationship with the Chinese to this day.

If it were up to MacArthur we would have gone to war with China. Who knows what would have happened had he gotten his way and not been fired.

China is a crime boss who has a psychotic little 'hit man' in its employ. While keeping its hands 'clean' China can threaten competitors like Japan, S. Korea, Taiwan, the US, and others with possible nuclear destruction. China has played this game with the help of those competitors to the point that the psychotic little 'hit man' has totally flipped and now threatens the crime boss's whole operation.
China has to take the hit man out and replace him with someone they can control or the world police with take him out and China at the same time. It is China's choice and must be made soon.

From Noriega to Saddam to Bin Laden, what you are describing is exactly how the US operates.

Chines "scholars" are permitted to publish only what the Chinese government approves, and to that extent are disseminating either propaganda or disinformation. It is naive to think that China will rein in North Korea. North Korea is demonstrating to nations in the Pacific that the US will back away from a military confrontation. This serves China's purpose of severing treaty commitments and drawing these other countries into treaties with China.

It seems to me that the range of opinion among scholars at Chinese academic institutions may be wider than the range of opinion among scholars in US academic institutions.

That's not a compliment to Chinese openness.

The problem is that China is not really that concerned about a nuclear North Korea and it see the situation as a useful irritant that distract resources and influence from the United States leaving China free to pursue their other interests in the area. There is a need of something that focus China on the problem. A statement from the United States that if in 6 months the situation is not solved the United States would withdrawn any objection to a nuclear Japan and South Korea would work wonders to concentrate the minds in China.

North Korea is totally dependent on Chinese support for their continued existence. Therefore, everything North Korea does in the long term, without significant correction by China, is done either at China's (implicit or explicit) request, or at minimum with their tacit approval.

North Korea's provocative stance towards the US and Japan has been ramping up over the last year. It is safe to conclude this serves some Chinese interest. We may guess what it is.

Some possibilities occur to me:

1) to provide a distraction from the issue of artificial islands in the South China Sea, as China consolidates its holdings there, establishing a long-term presence which can be parlayed into an "adverse possession" or appeal to precedent ownership. The long-term plan is to make the South China Sea into a Chinese lake.

2) to make the US dependent on Chinese intervention in the North Korea situation- providing China with leverage against US protectionism.

3) to leverage Chinese power against the West, to deter US protests against Chinese attempts to construct a dollar-free oil trade.
(Reference: http://www.newsmax.com/Fina... )

4) other thoughts?

Its quite simple. When the NK regime feels ready it will announce its forces are on the march to Seoul much like the Muslim refugees into Europe. Should anyone impede them in any way Seoul would be obliterated by an atom-hydrogen bomb so that neither North nor South can have it. under such threat SC will give in and be taken over.
The alternative is for the US to announce right NOW that it sees China as responsible for disarming the crazy-as-a-fox regime by whichever means, and untill it does so the US will not take any exports from China. Nor trade with any nation that does take exports from China. With specter of a half a billion workers idled China might make the necessary move.