Human Rights Policies of China and Japan towards North Korea: Domestic Agendas and International Norms

The regional government's policy stance towards the Pyongyang regime explains the complexity of "North Korea problems." The "problems" include nuclear threats and human rights abuses among many other issues. The responses of Beijing and Tokyo towards human rights situations of North Korea deserve our particular attention: China is on the receiving end of the largest number of escapees, and pacifist Japan with abduction victims. This paper demonstrates the supremacy of domestic policy agendas over international norms in the East Asian sociopolitical milieu. Beijing's ambivalence and Tokyo's construction of threats compounded with the failed state in Pyongyang continue to drive its own citizens cross the borders.