Following a recent visit to China, Doug Bandow recounts a conversation with a colleague about instability in North Korea and how it affects U.S.-China relations.

President Xi Jingping’s recent visit to South Korea was a rebuff to North Korea’s defiance of China’s warnings not to conduct nuclear or missile tests. If the United States incentivizes the Chinese government to incur the risks of abandoning the North Korean regime, Beijing might be willing to dump Pyongyang and treat Seoul as its future partner on the Peninsula.

After a brief historical characterization of the relationship between China and North Korea, Doug Bandow assesses the effect of the ouster of Jang Song-taek on the oftentimes-strained relationship between China and North Korea.

Beijing’s recent warning that Pyongyang not conduct another nuclear test will likely prove as ineffectual as previous warnings, writes Ted Galen Carpenter. Without huge incentives, which Washington has yet to offer, Beijing is unwilling to employ harsh measures to ensure North Korean compliance due to the risks entailed in such a drastic policy change.

Much of 20th Century history unfolded in the shadow of events in Europe in August 1914, when major powers in Europe launched one of the most savage wars the world had seen. August 2014 is looking very different. writes Greg Austin.

Both sides on the Korean Peninsula should realize that neither could destroy the other, and that it is necessary to continue this confrontational peace based on reciprocity and balance, write Shuang Shi and Xiong Lei.

Six decades after the Korean War (1950-53) was ended by the signing of an armistice agreement, the two Koreas are still technically at war. The fragile truce, signed on July 27, 1953, has contributed to the volatility and hostility seen on the Korean Peninsula today.

The time has come for China to rebalance its traditional geostrategic interests with its new role as a global leader – and that means adopting a policy of disciplined engagement toward North Korea. Only then will an internationally coordinated response to the North's nuclear ambitions be possible.

South Korea President Park Geun-hye’s visit to the United States was overshadowed by a scandal surrounding Park’s spokesman. While some believe the scandal distracted from Park’s agenda, Donald Kirk postulates that the trip helped cement ties between South Korea and the US, offering hope for future six-party talks with North Korea.

While tensions on the Korean Peninsula have slowly began to dissipate, Nathan Beuchamp-Mustafaga delves into the complex issue of how China uses North Korea as leverage in the U.S.-China relationship and provides policy responses for the United States.