The United States should make its thoughts on North Korea and the future of the Korean Peninsula more clearly known to China in order to win Beijing's cooperation in resolving a series of problems involving the North, a former American nuclear negotiator said Wednesday.
   
Former Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, who doubled as Washington's chief negotiator for the six-party talks on the North's nuclear program, also said China and the U.S. too often address the issue of North Korea "in a formulaic way, with the Chinese declaring that they 'support dialogue,' while the U.S. urges China to do more, without specifying what."
   
The U.S. goal should be to persuade China to make deterring North Korean rogue behavior a higher priority, which means communicating to the Chinese more clearly where North Korea stands among its own priorities, Hill said in an article contributed to the Project Syndicate.
   
"In particular, China needs to know how the U.S. views future arrangements on the Korea Peninsula. Of all of China's worries about North Korea, the most serious is that regime collapse -- probably followed by state failure -- could be perceived as a Chinese defeat and a US victory, with Korea reunified as part of the US alliance system," he said.
   
"Giving one another access to deep thinking on the issue could be the best means to encourage cooperation and, most important, a doctrine of 'no surprises.' The Chinese today frequently discuss a policy of 'great country relations' and 'win-win' arrangements. The US must work with them on that concept," he said.
   
Washington should also encourage better relations between Seoul and Beijing, he said, noting that there are widespread perceptions in the region that the U.S. frowns upon closer Seoul-Beijing relations as if more China in South Korea's future means less America.
  
Hill stressed that the sooner China feels comfortable with South Korea, the better for the U.S.
   
"Hollywood, human rights, and cyber security are not issues that China is particularly comfortable addressing. But their confluence attests to the need for better channels of Sino-American cooperation on North Korea," he said." "The time has come for strategic reengagement with China. North Korea is not a problem that will solve itself." (Yonhap)