Excerpts From a Chinese Historian’s Speech on North Korea

By CHRIS BUCKLEY, The New York Times, 04/18/17

A military parade was held in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Saturday to celebrate the birthday of the founder of the country, Kim Il-sung, and to demonstrate its missile capabilities. Credit Wong Maye-E/Associated Press

BEIJING — Shen Zhihua, a Chinese historian known for his groundbreaking research on the Korean War, has urged Beijing to rethink its longstanding support for North Korea. Mr. Shen made his case in a speech last month that has ignited widespread discussion in China, reflecting growing debate about how tough the government should be on North Korea. Here are some excerpts:

“Chairman Mao said long ago that who is our friend and who is our enemy is the question of first importance in a revolution. Getting to grips with that is also of the first importance in the foreign policy situation of northeast Asia. Just who is our friend, and who is our enemy? If you can’t distinguish between friend and foe, how can you fight and whom do you fight? Of course, friends can also have conflicts, and sometimes there’s also compromise and cooperation with enemies.

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