“The Enemies Made this Possible”: Sino-North Korean Relations after 1948

This chapter is anchored in the relationship between Kim Il Sung and Mao Zedong, documenting China’s support – initially heavy and later ebbing – for unification under Kimist leadership. Mao’s government and Kim’s remained tied to one another for security even after Chinese troops departed from North Korea in 1958 and the Cultural Revolution opened up its seemingly unlimited rage and chaos in 1966. As China became a more status quo power, North Korea continued to pursue strategies of peaceful reunification toward Seoul mixed in with rhetorical assaults on the US-South Korean alliance. Questions of leadership and personality are examined throughout the chapter, along with themes of Korean unification and China’s outlook on North Korean comrades. The chapter concludes by showing how Kim Jong-un has drawn from certain aspects of his grandfather’s legacy in order to conduct a foreign policy toward China which has alternated between cold and warm.