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As North Korea continues to deepen ties with Russia, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong visited North Korea and both sides agreed to strengthen strategic cooperation and jointly safeguard core interests.
The academics interviewed believe that China’s trip is aimed at understanding recent changes in North Korea’s foreign policy direction and ensuring that Pyongyang does not escape Beijing’s influence.
Sun Weidong visited Pyongyang, North Korea on Friday (Jan 26), held talks with North Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Park Myung-ho and visited North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui. According to news released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the evening, the two sides exchanged views on China-North Korea relations, international and regional situations and other issues of common interest.
The news pointed out that both sides highly praised the achievements in developing relations between the two countries in recent years, and reaffirmed that maintaining, consolidating and developing China-North Korea relations is the unshakable position of both parties two governments. The two sides agreed to strengthen strategic communications at all levels, deepen traditional friendship and pragmatic cooperation, and intensify multilateral coordination and cooperation to promote the continuous development of China-North Korea relations.
North Korea’s official news agency, Korean Central News Agency, reported that the talks between officials from both countries took place in a “friendly atmosphere” and both sides agreed to further strengthen tactical coordination and interaction to safeguard common core interests.
Sun Weidong’s visit appears to be a return visit after Park Minghao’s visit to China in December last year.
As Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un exchanged New Year’s greetings earlier this month, both sides used the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries to announce that the year 2024 would be designated as ” Declare “China-North Korea Year of Friendship” and launch a series of activities.
During this trip, Sun Weidong discussed the key activity agreements with the North Korean side.
China is North Korea’s largest trading partner and traditional ally, and trade between the two countries has increased every year over the past decade. However, there are increasing signs that North Korea is moving closer to Russia, which is deeply involved in the war.
Kim Jong-un had a rare meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Russian Far East in September last year. It was his first visit abroad since the outbreak of the coronavirus epidemic. North Korea has also been frequently accused in recent months of providing Russia with weapons in the Russia-Ukraine war. With access to the latest Russian military technology, the two countries also produce weapons together.
South Korean intelligence said North Korea successfully launched a military spy satellite in November last year with technical assistance from Russia.
Ryu Yongwook, assistant professor of East Asian international relations at the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, pointed out in an interview with Lianhe Zaobao that North Korea has been implementing equidistant diplomacy between China and Russia since the 1970s to maximize benefit Your influence to get the best out of both sides.
He said that from Beijing’s perspective, Pyongyang’s rapprochement with Moscow means that China’s influence on North Korea is weakening, and that the purpose of China’s visit to North Korea at this time is to find out North Korea’s foreign policy direction.
In recent weeks, North Korea has increased its provocations against South Korea. In addition to frequent missile tests, it also proposed a constitutional amendment to define South Korea as “enemy number one” and “eternal main enemy”, which further increased tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
China is working hard to recover from the epidemic. Liu Yongyu believes that regional instability will inevitably lead to further social and economic problems for China. Therefore, China could communicate to North Korea its desire to ease the situation on the Korean Peninsula.
However, he stressed that China is currently in a difficult situation because if North Korea is put under too much pressure, Pyongyang will accelerate its advance on Moscow. “The only thing Beijing can play is the carrot card. It must make the right concessions to Pyongyang and provide enough attractions to ensure that Pyongyang continues to move towards Beijing.”
Liu Yongyu also pointed out that North Korea has always hoped to reduce its dependence on Beijing and expand ties with other major powers, as it tried to do during former US President Trump’s administration. He explained that excessive economic dependence could lead to political vulnerability and excessive intervention.
He said: “Of all regions and countries, North Korea is the country that understands this best because it is the most dependent on China. “The current situation in Russia offers North Korea an opportunity to reduce its dependence on China, and it is taking advantage of it.” But that’s exactly what the Chinese government doesn’t want to see.”
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