Why China is keeping its distance as Russia and North Korea cosy up

Name: Satellite imagery suggests North Korea is supplying Russia with weapons through Rason port
Uploaded: 2023-12-24T22:00:08.000Z
Duration: 4 min 33 s
Description: Satellite imagery suggests North Korea is supplying Russia with weapons through Rason port

Beijing, a close partner of Moscow and Pyongyang, is staying quiet about the growing alignment between its two neighbours

Observers say China is cautious about joining trilateral axis that could trigger ‘new cold war’ as it positions itself as regional ‘stabiliser’

Reading Time:6 minutes

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Kawala Xie

Published: 6:00am, 25 Dec 2023Updated: 11:34am, 27 Dec 2023

At last month’s meeting between the foreign ministers of China, Japan and South Korea – their first in four years – Beijing pledged to be Northeast Asia’s “stabiliser” while opposing bloc-based cooperation, as the launch of North Korea’s spy satellite loomed.

The satellite, allegedly capable of spying on the White House and US naval bases, was the first to successfully enter orbit following previous failed attempts. This prompted South Korean intelligence to speculate that North Korea had received key technical support from Russia in return for delivery of weapons to support the war in Ukraine. Both Russia and North Korea have denied any arms deal.

The matter was widely speculated to have been discussed at a rare meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in September.

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Satellite imagery suggests North Korea is supplying Russia with weapons through Rason port

Engagement between the two nations has grown amid international isolation.

Beijing, a close partner of both Pyongyang and Moscow, has remained low key about the growing alignment between the two, repeatedly saying that their cooperation was a matter between the two sides and that China would not interfere.

It has also been muted in its reaction to reports that Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu had proposed inviting North Korea to participate in three-way naval drills with China.

Observers said China was cautious about being drawn into a trilateral axis with Russia and North Korea, fearing it could trigger a “new cold war” that would advance US interests and escalate tensions in the region.

Bjorn Alexander Duben, a Northeast Asian studies specialist at Jilin University in northeastern China, said Beijing wanted to avoid appearing to be engaged in “bloc-building”, by strengthening a trilateral relationship with Pyongyang and Moscow while it had close bilateral ties with both.