China is increasingly unnerved by Russia and North Korea’s growing alliance, says top US official

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and Russia’s Vladimir Putin at a military parade in Pyongyang in June. 

China is increasingly concerned about the alliance between Kim Jong Un’s North Korea and Vladimir Putin’s Russia, according to Kurt Campbell, the US deputy secretary of state.

The US believes that more than 11,000 North Korean troops have deployed to Kursk in Russia, where Putin is attempting to take back territory that Ukrainian forces captured.

Meanwhile, Russia is providing North Korea with economic and diplomatic support.

“The topic that is becoming increasingly uncomfortable for Chinese interlocutors is the DPRK [North Korea] engagement with Russia,” Campbell said at a talk for the Center for Strategic and International Studies last week, according to The Guardian.

“In some of the discussions we have had, it seems we are informing them of things that they were unaware of with regard to DPRK pursuits, and they are concerned that Russian encouragement might lead the DPRK to contemplate either actions or military actions that might not be in China’s interests.”

He added that China has not directly criticized Russia, “but we do believe that the increasing coordination between Pyongyang and Moscow is unnerving them,” he said.

Russia and North Korea are among China’s closest international allies, but analysts say Beijing is wary of the potential impact of an alliance between the authoritarian powers.

The support Russia is giving North Korea could upset the delicate balance of power on the Korean peninsula, where North and South Korea have for decades been locked in a frozen conflict.

South Korea has already threatened to hand weapons to Ukraine in response to North Korea’s support for Russia, and the tensions could spill into East Asia.

The Russia-North Korea alliance could weaken China’s influence in East Asia, and draw US allies in the region closer together.

Some observers also believe that President-elect Donald Trump could seek to drive a wedge between China and Russia, the US’ two most powerful rivals, when he takes office in January.

“China likely regards deepening ties between Russia and North Korea with some wariness,” Ali Wyne, an analyst with the Crisis Group, told B-17 in June.

“It worries about the possibility of Russia’s providing military assistance that could advance North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.”

However, China has considerable leverage over both Russia and North Korea. It provided the Kremlin with crucial economic and diplomatic support in the Ukraine war and has maintained close economic and political ties with North Korea for decades.

If it chose, it could likely use that leverage to restrain the North Korea-Russia alliance, say experts.

Others believe that the alliance benefits China. “Officially, they might not really welcome it; they might see it as an alarming situation,” Jagannath Panda, head of the Stockholm Center for South Asian and Indo-Pacific Affairs, previously told B-17.

“But the Chinese are waiting for an opportunity where North Korea, Russia, and China can come stronger together, and I think North Korea sending the troops to Russia is a testimony to that.”

Panda said that China’s strategic goal is to build an authoritarian nexus that would undermine the current world order. The growing alliance between North Korea and Russia, he said, is a step toward that.