As Russia and North Korea grow closer, China keeps its distance

Deepening Cooperation Between Russia and North Korea Raises Concerns for China

Beijing - China maintains close ties with both Russia and North Korea, but the growing cooperation between these two pariah states is causing discomfort for China.

Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement, including a mutual defense pact. This brings the two nuclear-armed countries closer than they have been since the Cold War era.

Putin's rare visit to North Korea, his first in 24 years, comes as he seeks greater support from Pyongyang for Russia's war in Ukraine. In exchange, North Korea could receive Russian assistance to advance its nuclear, missile, and satellite programs.

This elevation in Russia-North Korea relations sends a message to China, North Korea's biggest backer, that Pyongyang now has another powerful ally. 

"Kim Jong Un has a number of things to gain from this at a strategic level," said John Delury, a professor at Yonsei University. "This gets China's attention and makes Xi Jinping pay a little bit more heed perhaps to what's going on across his border."

The mutual defense treaty between Russia and North Korea, reviving a Cold War-era agreement, comes as China has accused the U.S. of bloc-building in the region. Experts say the U.S. is likely to further strengthen security ties with South Korea and Japan in response, adding to Beijing's sense of U.S. military encroachment.

China has been careful to frame its relationships with Russia and North Korea as separate bilateral ties rather than a trilateral authoritarian axis. Beijing is reluctant to jeopardize its relations with other countries by becoming too closely tied to the two pariah states.

Further destabilization on the Korean Peninsula would be an unwelcome complication for Xi Jinping, who is already grappling with domestic economic challenges.

China would also not want to see advancements in North Korea's nuclear and missile capabilities facilitated by Russian technology transfers.

Overall, the deepening Russia-North Korea cooperation appears to be making Beijing uneasy, as it navigates the delicate geopolitical dynamics in the region.