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All this emphasis on independence has caused a considerable cooling in Peking's regard for Kim. During North Korea's recent Liberation Day celebration, Red China sent only a lowly sub-secretary to the Pyongyang ceremonies; Moscow sent its rising young Presidium star, Aleksandr Shelepin. And rumors reaching India suggest that Peking has lately demanded a 100-sq.-mi. piece of territory near the Yalu in "payment" for its aid to North Korea during the Korean War. "The North Koreans are treading a tightwire," observes one Western diplomat. "Ideologically they would like to lean toward the Chinese, but economically and militarily they can get more from Russia."