North Korea’s recent bellicose rhetoric against the U.S. and South Korea also appears to be an expression of its grievances against China as its key ally is turning increasingly impatient with Pyongyang’s provocative behavior, experts here said Friday.

Although there appears to be no fundamental shift in its policy toward the wayward neighbor, Beijing has apparently started to recalibrate its approaches and signaled it would not let North Korean provocations just slip by.

“Years ago, China was in support of the North even while Pyongyang faced global criticism (after provocations against the South in 2010). But China is different now, clearly backing fresh U.N. sanctions to punish Pyongyang for its third nuclear test,” said Park Sang-hak, president of the Fighters for Free North Korea and a defector from the North.

“Pyongyang’s grievances against Beijing have been piling up. People here often say the two countries are close under the long-standing alliance, but at a deeper level, that is not true.”

Park, who defected from the North in 2000, added Pyongyang’s hard feelings toward Beijing started decades ago.

“The North berated China for establishing diplomatic ties with the South, its primary enemy, back in 1992. At the time, North Koreans said the inter-Korean border was not the military frontline, but the Amnok (Yalu) River bordering China was the very frontline,” he said.

“In the mid- and late 1990s when the North suffered a devastating famine, Pyongyang asked Beijing to offer food assistance, but it did not work out well despite what they called the ‘alliance forged in blood during the Korean War,’ and many died from hunger.”

Dubbed the “Arduous March,” the famine was caused by the North’s international isolation following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, along with bungled economic policies and flooding.

China has recently increased pressure on the North.

The Beijing government has reportedly directed its customs service and traffic control offices, financial institutions and border patrol units to abide by U.N. Security Council resolutions adopted to punish Pyongyang for its recent provocations.

It has also stepped up its inspection of cargo going to and from the North, and its clampdown on illegal foreign currency exchanges with North Korean banks and defectors working at factories and restaurants, according to recent reports.

Ahn Chan-il, director of the World North Korea Research Center, echoed Park’s view, noting Pyongyang may be wanting to show it can stand on its own without heavily relying on Beijing.

“Though another nuclear test and tough rhetoric that sharply raised tensions here, Pyongyang might have wanted to send a message to China that it can, all by itself, safeguard its sovereignty and the security of its own people,” he said.

“On top of that, China has apparently pressured or wanted the North to open and reform its economy based on the Chinese development model, but Pyongyang obviously wants to do that in its own way.”

Kim Heung-kwang, former professor in the North and representative of the group North Korea Intellectuals Solidarity, said the North was “whining” against China’s current moves to rein it in.

“The North’s oil importation relies on the pipelines from China. Thus, if they are cut off, the country would wither away. With that in mind, Pyongyang appears to be sort of bellyaching now,” he said.

“But the North also appears to be insinuating through its recent provocative moves that it would no longer be pushed around by China.”

Already under severe isolation caused by its missile and nuclear tests that violated U.N. resolutions, Pyongyang is known to receive from China some 300,000-400,000 tons of grain and 500,000 tons of oil each year. The North’s annual food shortage amounts to around 800,000 tons while its annual oil consumption is around 1 million tons.

Yang Moo-jin, professor at the University of North Korean Studies, said Pyongyang might be saying in a roundabout way to China that it wants Beijing to help it amid escalating tensions here.

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)