Good or Bad Neighbors? Exploring the Nature of the PRC-DPRK Relationship.

As China is asserting its position as a potential leader in the global economy with its participation in the World Trade Organization and with the upcoming Olympic Games to take place in 2008, the nature of Beijing's relationship with Pyongyang is becoming increasingly important. Thus, a crucial question must be answered: what does China want its relationship with North Korea to be? This question has been tackled at great length over the past decade, but has left out an important aspect of the problem: it is not only what China wants, but how North Korea sees the relationship and interprets it that matters. Therefore, this research aims at expanding knowledge regarding North Korea's potential choices and options if it decides not to follow the Chinese model of opening, which has been heralded as the most desirable policy option for Pyongyang, if the regime does not collapse on its own. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]