Washington believes that China is concerned about the rapid development of the partnership between Russia and North Korea, so it is appealing to Beijing to help restrain the involvement of the North Korean military in the Russian Federationʼs war against Ukraine.
The New York Times writes about this with reference to sources.
The US hopes that talks with China will help contain North Korea, which is dependent on its largest economic and military partner, the Peopleʼs Republic of China. Now, Beijing has to increasingly share its influence on Pyongyang with Moscow.
In addition, China may be unhappy that the involvement of the North Korean military in Russiaʼs war against Ukraine increases the risk of European interference in East Asian security issues, particularly regarding Taiwan.
The US State Department has spoken with Chinese officials about North Korean troops already in Russia. He hopes that China will at least let North Korean leader Kim Jong Un know that it should limit or stop the deployment of its troops in the Russian Federation.
If tensions arise within China due to increased cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang, American politicians will try to take advantage of this. However, so far the US does not know the opinion of Chinese leader Xi Jinping about the situation.
Ali Wein, a senior researcher on the US-China relations at the International Crisis Group, says the US should emphasize and play on the fact that Beijing may have overestimated its influence over Moscow and Pyongyang in its conversations with China. And that these countries care little about the reputational losses they will suffer in the event of increased instability in Europe and Asia.
Participation of the North Korean military in the war against Ukraine
Ukrainian intelligence reported on October 24 that the first soldiers from the KDPR had already arrived at the front — in the Kursk region. There are about 12 000 military personnel, including 500 officers and three generals.
South Korean intelligence reported that the first part of the military was transported by ships of the Russian Pacific Fleet to Vladivostok on October 8-13, they were given Russian uniforms, weapons and fake Russian passports. Babel sources said that they are being prepared in such cities as Khabarovsk, Ussuriysk, Blagoveshchensk, Vladivostok, and on the basis of the 11th separate airborne assault brigade of the Russian Federation, a "special Buryat battalion" staffed by citizens of the DPRK is being formed.
The American newspaper The Wall Street Journal, citing a former Russian spy, wrote that the strategic partnership agreement between Russia and North Korea, which Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un signed in June, contains a secret clause. According to the agreement, the DPRK will be able to send approximately a thousand of its soldiers to Ukraine at first, and later more. The head of GUR Kyrylo Budanov says that in exchange for soldiers, North Korea receives money and nuclear technology from Russia.
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