North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has recently visited Russia, and both sides have shown they intend to cooperate militarily. At the same time, a China–Russia–North Korea alliance is developing, which has caused concerns internationally.
Mr. Kim arrived in Russia on Sept. 12, accompanied by a large number of senior military officials. Russian President Vladimir Putin also went to Vladivostok to attend the Eastern Economic Forum. On Sept. 13, the two met at the Vostochny Cosmodrome—a Russian spaceport—and said that the two countries would cooperate in “sensitive” fields.
U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sept. 5 that Russia and North Korea were actively engaged in arms negotiations. On Sept. 11, Washington once again warned Pyongyang not to sell weapons to Russia that can be used in the Ukraine war, threatening more sanctions on North Korea.
Trilateral Threats to International Security
Hu Ping, honorary editor-in-chief of Beijing Spring magazine, a monthly Chinese-language magazine dedicated to the promotion of human rights, democracy, and social justice in China, told The Epoch Times that Russia’s protracted war in Ukraine has taken a huge toll on Russia, exceeding Putin’s original expectations. He said that Mr. Kim’s visit to Russia was mainly to provide Russia with some military supplies.“North Korea has a very poor image internationally. Russia claims to be the second-largest military power in the world. Now they need military supplies from North Korea, which proves that the war has indeed entered a very difficult stage for Putin,” Mr. Hu said.
Wang Weizheng, a professor of political science at Adelphi University in the United States, told The Epoch Times: “North Korea has actually not had a land war for many years, and it does have some surplus military supplies. The Russia–Ukraine war is basically a land war, and North Korea can provide Russia with some supplies. They were both socialist countries in the past and were closely interdependent. Russia hopes to make a breakthrough in this aspect.”
North Korea is one of the few countries to openly support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that began in February 2022.
Mr. Wang pointed out that China, Russia, and North Korea are relatively similar in ideology and share similar diplomatic situations.
“They all feel the counteraction from Western countries, mainly the United States, and democratic countries such as Japan and South Korea in the Indo-Pacific region. So they may seek support from each other. But Beijing may have some reservations about North Korea’s joining in. Beijing wants to take the lead on relations with North Korea and Russia.”
Mr. Hu warned that the three countries are gradually getting closer, especially in terms of military affairs.
The Epoch Times’ military commentator, Xia Luoshan, said in his program “Military Focus” that the danger of this trilateral partnership is that they all have expansion ambitions.
“Russia seeks to conquer Ukraine and make it part of a restored Russian empire; China seeks to capture Taiwan and achieve regional (or global) dominance by 2049, and North Korea seeks to unify the Korean Peninsula under its control. In short, all three have large or small ambitions for imperialist expansion, and they are all challenging the rules-based international order.”
He added: “Since all three possess nuclear weapons, any major conflict they initiate is likely to involve the use of nuclear weapons. Therefore, any war threats issued by them involve serious nuclear threats and have an important impact on global security.”
