US-DPRK antagonism root cause of nuke test: experts(2)

China-DPRK trade and economic relations are normal between two neighboring countries, Tao said.

"China, as a responsible stakeholder in the international community and one of the signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), bears solemn obligations for the international community in safeguarding the world's nuclear non-proliferation system," he said.

"This is also the reason why China has firmly opposed the DPRK's new nuclear test, a stance that should not be misunderstood," Tao added.

ANTAGONISM BETWEEN US AND DPRK

On the root cause of the nuclear test, Liu, the Tsinghua professor, said the DPRK's real target was the United States, instead of China or South Korea.

"On this issue, the United States, South Korea and Japan should be blamed for the failure of their policies. Those countries should reflect on what has happened," he said.

Liu said the nuclear test has shown that a policy of sanctions or coercion could not compel the DPRK to submit, adding that the country would have a strong sense of crisis if it was not offered a safe international environment and an open international economic policy.

"The current situation in Northeast Asia is imbalanced, with South Korea and Japan sheltered under the U.S. nuclear umbrella," said Ruan Zongze, deputy director of the China Institute of International Studies (CIIS).

At the same time, he said, the military strength of South Korea and Japan is not weak and the DPRK's security pressure mainly comes from the United States, the real target of its nuclear deterrence.

Tao, the CASS research fellow, also attributed the complexity of the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula to the 60-year-old antagonism between the DPRK and the United States.