China must not prop up Kim

Donald Trump’s frustration with North Korea is understandable.

It is the very definition of a rogue state: criminal, terrorist, tyrannical. The United Nations estimates that between 80,000 and 120,000 people languish in its prison camps. Successive American administrations have tried to curtail the country’s nuclear ambitions through diplomacy and economic leverage – and failed. When Mr Trump threatened to respond to Kim Jong-un’s latest threats with “fire and fury”, he wasn’t the one starting the fight. North Korea has been threatening world peace for decades.

But the president’s rhetoric poured oil on the fire: it was unhelpful to say the least. The reason the Kim dynasty has outlasted so many others is that they have the capacity to level South Korea, while their defence treaty with China means that any regional conflict could quickly turn global. The United States has to proceed with caution. It is possible that Mr Trump is playing the “mad man” card, but in this case he is up against people capable of acting even madder – or at least who regard survival of their regime, at any cost, as their sole mission. Pyongyang has now threatened to fire missiles towards the US territory of Guam.

China does not want confrontation. Its foreign minister, Wang Yi, once described North Korea and America as “two accelerating trains coming towards each other”. War could be catastrophic for China and it must recognise North Korea’s primary responsibility for this crisis, which is why, in a development overshadowed by Mr Trump’s remarks, the UN security council voted unanimously to place new sanctions on Pyongyang.

Perhaps one way through is for Mr Trump to pressure Beijing to enforce sanctions properly while Washington takes action against companies that illegally do business with the rogue state. China craves stability, but it must be obvious that, as North Korea’s nuclear capability grows and tensions escalate, propping up Kim is a recipe for chaos.

Mr Trump criticised Barack Obama for drawing red lines that he failed to uphold. That analysis remains correct: North Korea is testing how far it can go in a world in which US leadership has hitherto been lacking. But, in this frightening scenario, it is North Korea that has drawn the red line, Guam, and now threatens to cross it. That recklessness shows just how dangerous Kim is, and why he must be handled carefully.