Thousands of North Korean soldiers land in Russia to support Putin’s troops engaged in the war against Ukraine. According to the Pentagon, more than ten thousand units have arrived in eastern Russia in the last few hours to be adequately trained and then deployed in the Kursk region where the Russian army is encountering many difficulties in repelling the incursions of Ukrainian forces. In exchange for support for the Russian cause, Pyongyang should receive military technology from Moscow and further support to circumvent the international sanctions that weigh like a boulder on the North Korean economy.
These would be the terms of the iron pact signed between Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin to strengthen military cooperation between the two countries. An agreement promptly defined by the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte“a threat to the security of the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic region” which marks “a significant escalation in North Korea’s involvement in the conflict”. The American president is also on the same wavelength as Rutte Joe Bidenwhich underlines how the presence of North Korean troops in Russia represents a “very dangerous” event. However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has a different opinion, according to which the agreement in question would not violate international law in any way and would be the result of an “open and honest position” on the part of the Russian Federation, much more than what that of the Western bloc countries is not.
Despite the warnings of the USA and NATO, Putin and Kim therefore choose to go straight down the path of military cooperation defined as “illegal” and “dangerous for the fate of the world” by the government of the other Korea, South Korea, which has publicly denounced the potential risks associated with the pact signed by the Russians and North Koreans. And China? What is Beijing’s position regarding the military pact between Moscow and Pyongyang? Is it credible that Kim made such an agreement with Putin without consulting the government of the People’s Republic? Difficult. Because although Beijing slyly pretends to ignore the issue (Chinese Foreign Minister Lin Jian limited himself to stating that he was not aware of the facts), and continues to repeat that China’s position regarding the conflict in Ukraine involves easing of the tension and a commitment to a political solution, it remains very difficult to believe the narrative according to which Xi Jinping was not aware of the agreement between Putin and Kim.
In fact, China is still Pyongyang’s main strategic and commercial partner, it shares a border of over 1400 kilometers with North Korea, and it absolutely cannot afford to lose control of its North Korean ally now that they are increasingly tending to worsen tensions in the Pacific. Moreover: Beijing and Pyongyang recently celebrated the “year of friendship”an event coinciding with the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, and on the sidelines of the last Brics summit Xi Jinping publicly claimed the “indissoluble” friendship that binds the People’s Republic to Moscow.
For all these reasons, despite the silences, the ritual denials and the usual ambiguity of the Chinese government, it is quite likely that the military agreement between Putin and Kim was previously shared with Beijing and then endorsed by Xi Jinping. On the contrary, not even a single soldier serving Pyongyang would have ever been able to cross the North Korean border and set foot on Russian territory.
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