Topic
China is as likely to stop Pyongyang’s nuclear arms programme as the US is to halt its sale of weapons to Taiwan.
- Following Kim Jong-un’s visit to Russia this month, North Korea could arm Russia in exchange for a technology transfer to boost the North’s nuclear arsenal
- But given Russia’s historical reluctance to share its technology, North Korea could end up getting just food and economic aid, analysts say
The world’s nuclear powers are boosting investment in their arsenals, with China in particular increasing its stockpile from 350 to 410 warheads.
Readers discuss the implications of the meeting of the leaders of North Korea and Russia, and lessons from history on Russia’s military outcomes.
The president said Seoul and its allies would not stand idly by if Moscow helped Pyongyang enhance its weapons programmes in return for help in the Ukraine war.
Kim Jong-un received the gifts, including special clothing not detectable by thermal cameras, at the end of his longest foreign trip since taking power in 2011.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and dramatically increased tensions over Taiwan and North Korea have boosted global arms manufacturing.
He visited a number of workshops including that of Russia’s Sukhoi Superjet 100, and watched a demonstration flight of the Su – 35, nodding with approval.
The National Security Council also said it was taking seriously the 2 countries’ discussions on military cooperation, including the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles.
How Kim Jong-un, currently in Russia to meet Vladimir Putin, maintains command and control over his country’s missile and nuclear forces while abroad is unclear.
Experts suggest Kim is in search of advanced satellite technology, nuclear-powered submarines and food aid, while the Russian president reportedly seeks weapons from North Korea.
The Chinese leader’s comments in a message to Kim Jong-un come as the US, Japan and South Korea move to strengthen their three-way relationship.
The vessel has been assigned to the fleet that patrols the waters between the Korean peninsula and Japan.
Choice of the lower ranked officials to lead the Chinese delegations this year may imply Beijing is downplaying its relations with the hermit kingdom, says analyst.
‘They will pay a price for this in the international community,’ said US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan after reports that Kim Jong-un could travel to Russia this month to discuss a weapons deal with Vladimir Putin.
Kim Jong-un is ‘desperate to deter an increasingly capable South Korea’, analysts say, with plans to strike major military facilities in the South while simultaneously attacking US bases in Japan.
‘Since the beginning of 2022, this Council has failed to live up to its commitments because of China and Russia’s obstructionism,’ said US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield on Friday.
North Korea’s move ‘poses a grave threat to regional and international peace and stability’, said the organisation’s members and the EU in a joint statement.
North Korean state media said the first and second stages of the rocket launch went as planned, but then failure struck “due to an error in the emergency blasting system during the third-stage flight.”
In areas nearer North Korea there was also chemical and biological training, with instructions on how to put on a gas mask and the use of emergency food rations.
US official Kurt Campbell says recent Camp David summit shows Washington, Seoul and Tokyo driven ‘to protect themselves’ by a rising regional anxiety and instability
Pyongyang has not responded positively to the offer but it’s ‘still on the table’, says national security spokesman John Kirby.
Visits by Chinese, Russian delegations to Pyongyang signal an alignment for a ‘common interest’, according to observers.
