North Korean Troop Deployment in Russia Unacceptable to China – WSJ

Experts note that China’s influence on Russia and the DPRK is weakening.

China often sides with Russia and North Korea on global politics. But North Korea’s decision to send thousands of troops to the front lines in Ukraine poses a dilemma for China, testing the limits of its ability to influence its neighbors, The Wall Street Journal reports .

As the publication notes, Beijing’s biggest concern is that North Korean involvement in the war could lead to an even greater expansion of military partnerships between the United States, Western Europe and their allies in the Asia-Pacific region, since such partnerships could help the United States find allies in any potential conflict with China over Taiwan.

The deployment of North Korean troops in Russia is unacceptable to China, Zhu Feng, director of the Institute of International Studies at Nanjing University, said. He said it signals an expansion of the war with Ukraine, and Beijing may fear that the conflict “will now turn into an intercontinental war.”

China Loses Influence Over Allies

China may view Russia’s direct support for North Korea’s strategic weapons as a “red line,” but even then, its efforts to rein in either country would be limited, according to Eric Ballbach, a research fellow at the Korea Foundation at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.

“China is clearly facing the reality that it is losing influence in Pyongyang while Russia is gaining it,” Ballbach said.

Over the past year, for example, Kim Jong-un has made a dramatic shift, paying more attention to Russia than China. Kim has sent Putin more than 10 leader-to-leader letters this year, three times the volume of his correspondence with Xi. Also, Russians can vacation in North Korea, but the Chinese cannot yet.

As the WSJ notes, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un can offer each other something that Beijing cannot: Russia needs manpower and ammunition to win the war with Ukraine, and Pyongyang needs weapons know-how.

“Russia and North Korea are like a Swiss army knife for each other,” says John Park, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.

As the WSJ reminds us, China has avoided criticism of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, calling it a “crisis” rather than a war. At the same time, Beijing has said almost nothing about North Korean troops.

In response to a direct question, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jiang said that North Korea and Russia’s bilateral relations are “a matter for themselves,” and reiterated that China calls on all parties to de-escalate the situation and seek a political solution.

China’s stance has frustrated Russia and North Korea because Beijing has been reluctant to publicly declare alliances with its two neighbors, said Miles M. Yu, a former Trump administration adviser on China policy.

DPRK military in Ukraine

At the end of October, the US State Department announced that there were about 10,000 North Korean troops in Russia , of which about 8,000 were in the Kursk region. It was then reported that this contingent could take part in combat operations in the coming days.

As stated by the commander of the 24th separate assault brigade (OSB) “Aidar” Stanislav Bunyatov , Russian troops have reduced their activity in the Kursk region. This may be due to the regrouping of troops and the entry of North Korean soldiers into positions.

(c)UNIAN 2024