North Korea, China in lockstep on Ukraine war, expert says
REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
Every step Pyongyang
has taken to support the Russian war effort in Ukraine was cleared with Beijing first,
Artur Kharitonov, president of the Liberal Democratic League of Ukraine, told
NV Radio on Aug. 11.
Kharitonov also warned there are no effective foreign policy instruments to compel China into dissuading North Korea from helping Moscow out.
“No, they don’t exist — those levers; this is a geopolitical agreement: negotiating with China to pacify Kim Jong Un is exactly something Chinese leader Xi Jinping wants, because it is one of his levers [of influence],” he said.
Kharitonov added North Korea’s economy, military industry, and social sphere have been developing rapidly with Chinese support.
“North Korea has existed all these years, at least since the collapse of the Soviet Union, under very China-dependent conditions and is critically dependent on it,” he said.
“Accordingly, any North Korean actions in Russia’s war in Ukraine are synchronized with Beijing. And while Beijing may not give direct orders on everything, it is certainly aware of critical moves such as sending brigades to strike Ukraine.”
“Just days ago, the
99th anniversary of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army was marked in
Pyongyang with participation from North Korean and Chinese generals. There is
no doubt that China is involved in this.”
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