China has gained direct access to the Sea of Japan for the first time in 100 years through a North Korean port, leaving the other two regional players, Japan and South Korea, deeply concerned about the communist state’s ambitions.
China made an agreement to lease a pier at North Korea’s Rajin Port for 10 years, China’s Global Times, an official newspaper and the international arm of the People’s Daily, said on Wednesday. China claims the move is purely economic.
“China has finally found a direct trade outlet to the Sea of Japan … It is the country’s first access to the maritime space in its north-east since it was blocked over a century ago,” said the newspaper, adding that infrastructure renovation is “currently underway”.
Japan and South Korea are a bit concerned, it seems.
For now it is to be a commercial port. But building the infrastructure of a proper Chinese port facility means it could be quickly turned into a military facility. You know, in case China takes over all or even part of North Korea in a collapse scenario. Of course, absorbing Najin means that Russia gets cut out of the partition of North Korea that I speculated about five years ago.
