Beijing 'exploring whether to change tactics' over North Korea relationship

China is exploring whether to change tactics in engaging with North Korea, which is becoming increasingly unpredictable since Kim Jong-un came to power, observers and analysts say.

The development comes as the foreign ministry in Beijing sent two delegations to Pyongyang in less than a month - a move that scholars and government think tanks say is aimed at seeing whether North Korea still holds China as its staunchest ally.

The motives behind Pyongyang's actions over the past year - from nuclear tests to the high-profile execution of Kim's uncle Jang Song-thaek - have mystified many in the region, including China. Many Chinese scholars and government think tanks say they are being kept in the dark about its latest developments.

Contact between Beijing and Pyongyang under the younger Kim is not as high profile as under his father Kim Jong-il, and the execution of Jang - a key figure in North Korea's economic engagement with China - has triggered worries that North Korea no longer highly regards its ties with China, said Cai Jian , deputy director of Fudan University's Centre for Korean Studies.

The visits to Pyongyang by the Chinese delegations - one headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin - will help Beijing gauge whether Pyongyang is still politically stable in the wake of the purge. They also signal that Beijing may seek changes in how it engages North Korea.

The International Department of the Communist Party is the main organisation behind cultivating ties between Beijing and Pyongyang, but Cai said the foreign ministry may now become more involved in contact with North Korea.

"Communications with the International Department usually stresses more on the relationship between the ruling parties … and that usually conveys a sense that the two are brothers or allies," Cai said. "With the involvement of the foreign ministry, it is more like nation-to-nation routine exchanges, stressing less on brotherly ties."