HONG KONG -- Pyongyang-Beijing ties used to be characterized as being "as close as lips and teeth," but that phrase no longer applies to the relationship. For no sooner does North Korea arouse deep Japanese public outrage with its prevarication over past abductions than the isolated Stalinist state provokes a deep sense of Chinese official indignation, as it seeks to open up to the outside world without consulting Beijing.
In a bizarre but still unfolding episode, North Korea hired one of China's wealthiest businessmen -- who has a Dutch passport -- to run a Hong Kong-like special administrative region (SAR) on its border with China, without telling Beijing what it intended.
China has responded by first detaining the businessman and then placing him under house arrest, as it continues its already 4-month-old investigation of him for suspected tax evasion, illegal property development, corrupt dealings, and probably several other questionable economic activities.