The Russian government appears to be putting full effort into ‘trilateral cooperation’ with China and North Korea.
Meanwhile, attention is focused on the future options of China, which has recently appeared to be keeping its distance from the long-term military cooperation between Russia and North Korea.
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing, China by flight on the morning of the 17th. This is to attend the 3rd ‘Belt and Road International Cooperation Summit Forum’ to be held in Beijing for two days from this day. President Putin is also planning a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the 18th.
‘One Belt, One Road’ is a Eurasian metropolitan economic zone initiative advocated by President Xi in 2013 and is considered the Chinese government’s biggest priority project. The general interpretation among diplomats is that President Putin’s direct attendance at related events and his participation in the China-Russia summit are in themselves a message that he values the relationship with China, his ‘ally’.
In this regard, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the China-Russia Foreign Ministers’ Meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held in Beijing the previous day, “The relationship between the two countries is maintaining a positive development trend,” and that they will maintain strategic communication and practical cooperation in each field. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that it expressed its expectation of further deepening.
President Putin also held a summit meeting with North Korea a month ago. It is observed that the meeting between President Putin and North Korean Workers’ Party General Secretary Kim Jong-un, held at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s Amur Region on the 13th of last month, mainly discussed matters related to military cooperation, including arms trade.
Intelligence authorities including South Korea and the United States believe that Russia is using North Korea to supply conventional weapons, such as artillery shells, as the war has prolonged since its invasion of Ukraine in February last year.
In particular, as Western countries, including the United States, strengthened sanctions against Russia during this process, experts say that Russia is attempting to build an ‘anti-American camp’ through solidarity with North Korea and China, which are in similar positions.
North Korea has been subject to sanctions from the international community, including the United States, for a long time due to its nuclear and missile development, and China has also been in conflict with the United States in recent years by competing for hegemony in almost all fields, including economy, diplomacy, military, and security.
Meanwhile, the Russian side has even discussed the possibility of joint military exercises between North Korea, China, and Russia even before the Russia-North Korea summit last month. This move by Russia was interpreted as aimed at strengthening cooperation between Korea, the United States, and Japan led by the United States in response to regional security threats emanating from North Korea.
The Chinese authorities had previously shown a wait-and-see approach during the Russia-North Korea summit, saying it was a “bilateral matter” (Mao Ning, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs), but after the meeting between President Xi and President Putin, they expressed a “North Korea-China-Russia solidarity” from Russia. There are many predictions that a clearer stance will be taken regarding the discussion.
In particular, Russian Minister Laprov plans to visit North Korea on the 18th and 19th and participate in a meeting between Russian and North Korean foreign ministers with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui, through which they will discuss follow-up measures to last month’s summit and also deliver the results of the China-Russia summit to North Korea. do.
However, experts are weighing the fact that “even if China internally agrees to strengthen North Korea-China-Russia solidarity, it will not immediately put this into action.” This is because, unlike Russia and North Korea, which have each brought about ‘international isolation’ through the war in Ukraine and the development of nuclear weapons and missiles, the Chinese authorities have continued to pursue diplomatic engagement to expand their influence.
Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University, said, “Russia is moving very actively (for solidarity with China and North Korea),” adding, “However, China has stated that it ‘does not intervene’ in the war in Ukraine, so the recent tension between North Korea and Russia “There is bound to be a great burden in relation to military cooperation trends,” he said.
Professor Park said, “China will not overtly criticize the ‘close relationship’ between North Korea and Russia, but it will also be wary of a situation where the three parties of North Korea, China, and Russia are tied together.” He added, “For now, the relationship will be managed only at the bilateral level as before.” “I think they will try to do it,” he predicted.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.