I wonder to what extent China’s apparent friction with the ROK, rather than some tacit desire to annoy the United States or simply make money, would motivate the kind of cooperation with North Korea as asserted in the Washington Times. In any case, it would seem to be shaping up as a rocky year for PRC-ROK relations, and the CCP doesn’t have much to gain domestically (their bottom line as always) by cracking down on North Korea, especially if it appears to be at the behest of their fellow “stakeholders” in the international community.