China's increasing influence on North Korea

David Straub, associate director of the Korean Studies Program, discussed China's increasing influence on North Korea with The New York Time's reporter Choe Sang-hun. Straub said that China's primary purpose in boosting trade and other ties with North Korea was not increased influence per se but the avoidance of a crisis on the Korean Peninsula. Contrary to official rhetoric on both sides, he noted, the two countries remain wary of each other.