China rejects North Korean troops in Russia ‘who is their business’ – Washington Examiner

About 8,000 Korean People’s Army troops are expected to soon enter combat in the Kursk Oblast, currently occupied by Ukrainian army– say US defense officials.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin says that soldiers are being equipped with Russian uniforms and weapons to conceal their cooperation, showing that both countries are aware that North Korea’s entry into the conflict could create a sense of urgency in the international community if an outside power gets involved.

If any country could be expected to approve this joint military operation, it would be China – the current third musketeer of geopolitical disruption in Asia.

However, the Chinese Communist Party was hesitant to get involved.

Asked to comment during Friday’s press conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian distanced Beijing from North Korea’s decision and Russia.

“We have recently noted several reports on this topic and responses from various parties. The DPRK and Russia are two independent, sovereign states, and how to develop bilateral relations is their individual matter,” Jian told the press. “China is not aware of the specifics of bilateral exchanges and cooperation between the DPRK and Russia.”

He reiterated the Chinese government’s position on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, saying the country “hopes the parties will work to ease tensions and remain committed to a political solution to the Ukraine crisis,” without providing further details.

This comment appeared just a day later US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that they have contacted their Chinese counterparts to discuss the issue.

“I think they are well aware of our concerns and expectations that they will use the influence they have, both in words and in deeds, to limit these actions,” Blinken said at a news conference with South Korean leaders on Thursday.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky expressed shock at China’s “silence” during a wide-ranging national security update posted on social media on Thursday.

“North Korea’s actions are not random; have strategic goals. I am surprised by China’s silence,” wrote the Ukrainian president. “I cannot say that China is on our side, but its silence as a regional security guarantor is striking.”

President Xi Jinping’s long series of frequent state visits President of Russia Vladimir Putinand North Korea’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un have portrayed the three as an emerging military coalition over the past few years.

Kim, a cautious leader who is usually reluctant to leave his hermit kingdom, traveled by train to Beijing in January 2019 for a rare state visit with Xi, ahead of a meeting with then-President Donald Trump the following month. Xi returned the favor this summer with the first visit to North Korea by a top Chinese leader in over 14 years.

Putin has visited China every year since the invasion of Ukraine began in 2022. Xi visited Putin in 2023, where he signed a joint agreement to expand cooperation between the two countries. He too attended the 16th annual BRICS summit in Russia in October this year.

Kim also made diplomatic trips to Russia in 2019 and 2023 – a show of loyalty that Putin rewarded with one of the few state visits by a foreign leader to North Korea in 2024, during which both dictators were photographed laughing and playing in luxury cars for state media .

After Russia’s first incursions into Ukraine in early 2022, China adopted a policy of neither supporting nor condemning Putin’s decisions. Chinese Communist Party leaders have consistently pushed formulaic calls for peace and made offers to facilitate such negotiations.

China’s political proximity to Russia made these gestures both suspicious and valuable to Ukraine.

Zelensky said in a May interview that he would like China to be involved in peace negotiations because Xi’s vote would influence Putin. This openness was complicated when Ukraine accused China of pressuring other countries not to attend the June peace conference held in the country Switzerland.

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On Thursday, the Ukrainian president presented the idea of ​​​​creating an “Asian Security Alliance” – a hypothetical coalition of Japan, South Koreaand China, which would contain North Korea and maintain the stability of the East Asian region.

“Both Japan and South Korea are strong, civilized countries and establishing contact with China may prove essential in countering North Korea’s aggression, as North Korea is actively drawing the region into war,” Zelensky said. “Their actions are not accidental – in return they want Russia’s support.”

Dialogue between the countries already exists in the framework of the annual China-Japan-South Korea trilateral summit, which last met in May this month. However, Zelensky’s proposed alliance remains an unlikely pursuit due to long-standing political tensions between all three members.