ABSTRACT
This summer , as the nuclear crisis i n N o r t h Korea in tensi f ied , mos t eyes were focused o n the adversaries i n W a s h i n g t o n a n d Pyongyang . Less no t iced, b u t n o less i m p o r t a n t , was the role of a t h i r d player : Bei j ing. Ch ina , l o n g ret icent o n mat ters of fo re ign pol icy , h a d b o l d l y s tepped i n t o the fray, suspend ing cruc ia l o i l sh ipments to N o r t h Korea , send ing h igh - l eve l en voys to P y o n g y a n g , a n d sh i f t ing t roops a r o u n d the Sino-Korean border. I t was C h i n a tha t a r ranged the t r ipa r t i t e ta lks h e l d i n Bei j ing i n A p r i l . A n d C h i n a has no t let u p the pressure since. This summer , Ch ina de ta ined a N o r t h K o r e a n ship over a "business" d i spu te , a n d Vice Fore ign M i n i s t e r D a i B i n g g u o has shu t t l ed be tween P y o n g y a n g a n d Wash ing ton to ensure a second r o u n d of discussions.
