China’s response to Russia’s growing influence over North Korea ranges from “frustration” to “panic,” as Beijing appears to be losing control of its ally, according to former US officials.
These officials explained to the website:Voice of America“The security partnership between Russia and North Korea may undermine China’s strategic position in East Asia, and the step will have long-term consequences that are not in China’s favor.
The Russian Foreign Ministry announced that North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui will hold “strategic consultations” in Moscow with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, while the United States, South Korea, and NATO expressed concern about Pyongyang sending thousands of soldiers for training in Russia.
American officials believe that Russia intends to use North Korean soldiers in combat or to support combat operations against Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region, while South Korea condemned this and considered it a major security threat to the international community.
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko held talks on Wednesday, with Wang reiterating the “strong ties” between the two countries, and the two sides exchanged views on Ukraine, but did not reveal details of their discussions.
Chinese officials avoided directly commenting on North Korea sending thousands of soldiers to Russia. Lin Jian, spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said during a press conference, “China calls on all parties to reduce escalation and seek a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis, and this position of China has not changed.”
What does the presence of North Korean forces in Russia mean for Beijing?
Weeks after news circulated of Pyongyang’s decision to send thousands of soldiers to fight alongside Russia in Ukraine, NATO and the Pentagon said this week that North Korean soldiers are in Kursk, a Russian region partly controlled by Ukrainian forces, a move that… The Radio Free Europe website report considered it an embarrassment to China.
China panic
Dennis Wilder, a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) official, calls the complete silence in Beijing on the subject “astonishing” and adds that Chinese President Xi Jinping is unlikely to make any public statements on the subject.
He explained, “China has been very cautious about providing nuclear aid to North Korea, as it has kept a limited flow of economic support to ensure North Korea’s stability. But if Russian President Vladimir Putin moves toward providing nuclear aid, this will strengthen American alliances in East Asia, and perhaps “It creates a real NATO there.”
Wilder added, during a symposium hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, that Chinese President Xi Jinping is in a very difficult situation in this situation, and suggested that the United States take advantage of its intelligence channels with China to collect and analyze data jointly.
Victor Cha, a former National Security Council official in the White House, said that by sending troops to Russia, North Korea is providing a mutual security “token of partnership,” something Pyongyang has not been able to secure with Beijing.
“In China, there may be a combination of some frustration, some panic, and some not knowing how to deal with the current situation,” Cha added, adding that Chinese panic stems from the fact that Russia now has perhaps greater influence in North Korea than China has, as he put it. .
Sending North Korean forces to Russia…a “test” for relations between Beijing and Pyongyang
Experts who spoke to the Voice of America news website explained that China may be concerned about North Korea sending forces to the Russian Kursk region, which borders Ukraine, because NATO views Pyongyang as an important area of influence for Beijing.
Language barrier
Other military analysts noted that while North Korean soldiers could gain practical experience in combat operations once deployed to another country, they would also face significant challenges.
Colonel Mark Cancian, who spent more than three decades in the US Marine Corps and is now a senior adviser in the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said there was a huge language problem and wondered “how a group of North Koreans could effectively integrate with Russian military unit and to communicate and work together.”
Cancian added that the possibility of Russia transferring technology related to ballistic missiles, air defenses, and nuclear weapons to North Korea is considered “perhaps the most dangerous scenario” from the perspective of the United States.
“If they cross.” Biden: Ukraine has the right to target North Korean soldiers
US President Joe Biden urged the Ukrainians to respond if North Korean forces crossed into their country.
Violating UN Security Council resolutions
US officials disputed Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s assertion that military assistance between Russia and North Korea does not violate international law.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Tuesday that Russia’s training of North Korean soldiers that includes weapons or related materials, as well as any training or assistance that includes North Korean soldiers in the use of ballistic missiles or other weapons, constitutes a direct violation of several resolutions. UN Security Council.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yul announced plans to exchange delegations to coordinate procedures and share intelligence information regarding the deployment of North Korean forces to Russia. This week, Kiev’s special envoy to South Korea will begin talks with South Korean officials.
In Washington, US officials said they would welcome increased South Korean support for Ukraine, with the South Korean government indicating it would consider sending “weapons for defense and offense” and may also send military and intelligence personnel to Ukraine to analyze North Korean battle tactics and help interrogate captured North Koreans.
Acting US State Department spokesman, Vedant Patel, said during a recent briefing that Washington welcomes any country that supports the Ukrainians as they continue to defend their country’s sovereignty, as he put it.
Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations on Wednesday denied reports of the presence of North Korean forces on the front lines of the war against Ukraine, describing them as “mere allegations.”
The Russian statements come after the US Department of Defense (the Pentagon) said on Tuesday that a “small number” of North Korean soldiers are deployed in the Russian Kursk region on the border with Ukraine.
Agence France-Presse reported that US Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Robert Wood said that North Korean soldiers who will participate in the fighting in Ukraine alongside Russia “will return in body bags,” in a warning he addressed by name to leader Kim Jong Un.
“If North Korean soldiers enter Ukraine to support Russia, they will certainly return in body bags,” Wood added in an intervention before the UN Security Council.
He added, “I therefore advise Leader Kim to think twice before engaging in such reckless and dangerous behavior,” according to the agency.