ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that China's growing strategic imprint has been increasingly tied to the security and stability of the Korean Peninsula, providing both opportunities and new challenges for the Unites States-Republic of Korea (US-ROK) alliance. It highlights China's three strategic objectives toward North Korea, traditionally interpreted in terms of achieving stability, peace and denuclearization/non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction on the Korean Peninsula. In particular, depending on the evolving inter-Korean security dynamics, Sino-US relations, and ultimately, North Korea's internal political developments, China could potentially disrupt, limit, prevent or intervene in US-ROK military responses in various conflict and unification scenarios in and around the Korean Peninsula. Consequently, in potential conflict flashpoints such as the Taiwan Strait, the Korean Peninsula and the South China Sea, China could use the People's Liberation Army (PLA) as a lever to mitigate the traditional strategic advantages, military effectiveness and freedom of action of US forces in the region.
