Outlook Weekly, in the 23rd issue of 2009, published an article by Zhu Kechuan, a researcher in Xinhua Research Center for World Affairs, regarding the current situation of the Korean Peninsula. It criticized the U.S., Japan, and South Korea’s approach to North Korea. Zhu argued that right now, the U.S. is falling into the mire of financial crisis and is also facing the hard-to-clean mess of Iraq and Afghanistan. "The U.S. government should think about that; it is not an easy thing to use hegemonism to ‘fix’ another country no matter how big or small and how rich or poor that country is." Zhu also stated, "Japan should also be clear: You can’t cheat the world to wash off the historical responsibility for Korea or take this opportunity to break through the constraint of ‘Peace Constitution’…South Korea should reflect too: What benefits do the government and people get from its changing the policy of national reconciliation since last year?"
Though China is always a strong backer of North Korea, the article also criticized North Korea: "What is the best way to achieve the dream of a ‘strong big country?’ Using ‘super-tough’ to respond to other countries’ ‘tough’ will get North Korea nowhere. Nuclear weapons can indeed scare people, but they still failed to prevent the collapse of the Soviet Union."
Source: Outlook Weekly, 23 rd issue of 2009
http://lw.xinhuanet.com/htm/content_4768.htm