Russia-North Korea Ties as Viewed from China

"A 'security alliance' model guided by a binary opposition of 'enemy and self’ is not in line with the 'Global Security Initiative' (GSI) advocated by China."

“Russia has risen to a sacred fight [against the West] to protect its sovereignty and security. We will always support the decisions of President Putin and the Russian leadership … and we will be together in the fight against imperialism.” – Kim Jong-Un to Vladimir Putin (Sept. 2023)

Moscow’s relations with Pyongyang have been warming since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine just over two years ago. Last September, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin and spent almost a week in Russia’s Far East, aiming to deepen cooperation between the two sides. This was Kim’s longest foreign trip since taking power power in late 2011 and his first trip abroad in more than four years. In recent months, North Korea is reported to have shipped thousands of containers of munitions and missiles to Russia in support of its war in Ukraine. In return, Moscow is believed to be supplying North Korea with increasing amounts of oil that could contravene UN sanc…