Zhang said. “Are they going to come up with concrete actions that can solve problems, or are they going to continue to use the (Korean) Peninsula as a bargaining chip in their geopolitical strategy?”

A day after North Korea’s first long-range test since 2017, U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield urged the council to condemn the launch and encourage North Korea to return to negotiations.

North Korea’s test of a big new intercontinental ballistic missile prompted the United States to press Friday for stiffer U.N. sanctions, but China and Russia showed little appetite for tightening restrictions that they have been trying to ease.

“It was an egregious and unprovoked escalation” that threatens the world, said Thomas-Greenfield, whose country joined Albania, France, Ireland, Norway and the United Kingdom in calling for the meeting.

Many council members expressed alarm at the launch and appealed to North Korea to stop.

Britain agreed Friday more sanctions should be considered, and several other members urged action of some kind.

But veto-wielding China and Russia proposed last fall to lift sanctions that bar their neighbour from exporting seafood and textiles, limit its imports of refined petroleum products and prohibit its citizens from working overseas and sending home their earnings.

Is North Korea joining hands with Russia & China, breaking the monopoly of power & resources…..?

The US is currently facing challenges from its adversaries in Northeast Asia: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China’s military build-up on the Taiwan Strait and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK or North Korea) ongoing testing of advanced missiles.

As military tensions between the US and North Korea’s greatest allies, China and Russia, grow, Pyongyang has unequivocally supported Moscow and Beijing through sharpened criticism of US policy. In a commentary on the Foreign Ministry’s website this week, North Korea expressed its clear position on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the US-China confrontation in the Asia-Pacific region.

North Korea defended Russia and blamed the US as the “root cause of the Ukrainian crisis” Similarly, North Korea has also criticized the US for its intention to renovate its long-term plan to isolate China in the Asia-Pacific region.

North Korea Is Joining China and Russia in Confronting the US

Strategic competition between the US and China has grown, both countries have sought to recruit ideological allies in their race against each other for global dominance. Biden’s strategy for deterring China’s military rise has been to strengthen US alliances in Asia. However, the net effect of US efforts to strengthen ties with South Korea and Japan has been a convergence of interests and strengthened cooperation among China, Russia and North Korea.

These developments all seem to suggest an emerging strategic triangle to reduce US influence in the region and promote a multipolar international system.

NORTH KOREA’S STRATEGY AGAINST THE US

Pyongyang will continue with its “frontal breakthrough” and “power for power” approach as its external strategy, in line with Kim’s earlier pledge during the Eighth Party Congress in 2021 to strengthen national military capabilities. However, and more importantly, the DPRK’s foreign policy plans for this year appear to have been recently recalibrated to account for the emergence of new geopolitical realities: the confrontation between Russia and the US over Ukraine and between China and the US over Taiwan.

Since the start of this year, North Korea has already exerted pressure on the US by demonstrating its missile capabilities eight different times, and Kim Jong Un has implied the possibility of the DPRK breaking its moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile testing.

For North Korea, the timing couldn’t be better to confront the US through the formation of a united front with Russia and China to deter current US policy towards these three countries.

No Sanctions, but Aid

On January 20, 2022, China and Russia blocked the United Nations (UN) Security Council from imposing further sanctions against North Korea for its recent missile tests. China told the Security Council it needed more time to study the sanctions, while Russia said more evidence was needed to back the US request.

Moreover, in recent years, China and Russia have often pushed the UN to lift international sanctions on North Korea for humanitarian reasons and have encouraged further negotiations.

On February 7, 2022, Russia and North Korea discussed strengthening bilateral ties and have shown signs of preparing to partially resume trade between these two countries as well.

WHY CHINA AND RUSSIA ARE BACKING UP NORTH KOREA….?

China and Russia’s vetoing of further sanctions against and sending economic aid to North Korea have served as a driving force for Kim to continue to push forward his WMD development plans. It also means that as long as relations with China and Russia are in good standing, their support will cushion the DPRK against further US punitive measures.

As seen in recent months, this support has enabled North Korea to test freely and frequently, as evidenced in January; just before the Beijing Olympic Winter Games, advancing its missile capabilities with few repercussions.

However, the question of what strategic benefits China and Russia gain from North Korea’s nuclear weapon development remains unclear. North Korea’s missile testing aims to confirm the vulnerability of US and Republic of Korea (ROK) missile defence systems, including Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), to North Korea’s new ballistic missiles.

China and Russia seeking ways to reduce US military influence in Northeast Asia

The data from these tests would also serve as useful references for China and Russia when it comes to upgrading their missile capabilities to overwhelm US defence systems.

Furthermore, China and Russia are always seeking ways to reduce US military influence in Northeast Asia. If US-DPRK talks are resumed in the future, terminating US-ROK military drills and withdrawing US strategic weapons from South Korea could potentially be presented as appropriate corresponding measures to North Korean concessions on the nuclear front—all of which would serve Chinese and Russian interests as well.

Despite China and Russia’s official opposition to North Korea’s possession of nuclear weapons, the continued survival of the regime is of interest to Beijing and Moscow as it can serve as a buffer state against US influence. As North Korea’s WMDs provide a reliable deterrent against a potential US attack on the North Korean regime, it appears to be a cost China and Russia are willing to bear.

Long-Term Survival Strategy

The current polarized security architecture has created additional challenges for resolving the North Korea nuclear issue. Beijing and Moscow are willing, for now, to make strengthening ties with Pyongyang a higher priority than denuclearization, to deter the expansion of America and its allies in the region.

This approach creates problems for the US and its alliances in fomenting an international consensus on the complete denuclearization of North Korea and creates space for Kim Jong Un to continue testing advanced nuclear and missile technologies.

WHY ARE CHINA & RUSSIA LOOKING FOR LIFTING OF SANCTIONS ON NORTH KOREA…?

Generally, repeated missile testing by the DPRK has been seen as an effort to increase leverage over the US. However, at this time, North Korea is not just trying to get the United States to resume negotiations, but maybe to push the US to first make concessions, such as lifting sanctions and terminating joint military drills.

Both of which are actions that China and Russia would also like to see. The success of this will depend on if Kim Jong Un can convince the US to change its fundamental policy, or “hostile policy” toward North Korea before talks could be resumed.

Furthermore, since nuclear weapons are the most useful source for ensuring the regime’s long-term survival, Kim Jong Un is not using them as a bargaining chip anymore. North Korea has learned the importance of possessing nuclear weapons from the experiences of other countries facing long-term threats from the US or other global superpowers.

The latest lesson would be Ukraine, now embroiled in conflict with Russia, after having dismantled its nuclear weapons three decades ago.

Conclusion: GEOPOLITICAL IMPLICATIONS & ARM’S CONTROL

At its current pace, North Korea is projected to have a significant number of ICBMs over the next few years. If Pyongyang eventually reaches this level of nuclear capacity, the changed power structure in Northeast Asia could undermine regional security and create instability in Seoul and Tokyo.

As North Korea’s nuclear threat to South Korea and Japan continues to grow, the credibility of US extended deterrence also gets called into question. Possible options for the US to offer its allies are the installation of further missile defence systems, the deployment of intermediate-range, nuclear-capable delivery systems and tactical nuclear weapons, and, in extreme circumstances, authorizing indigenous nuclear weapon development.

Despite ongoing political debates and public opposition, these options and countermeasures suggest that further advancements and deployments of nuclear arms in South Korea and Japan would not only significantly reduce the impact of North Korea’s nuclear weapons in the region but should undermine the Chinese and Russian nuclear strategies as well.

Given this situation, China and Russia might do well to consider whether they have reason to be concerned about the mid-to longer-term geopolitical implications of an unrestrained North Korean nuclear weapons program. These considerations should compel China, Russia and the US to issue an urgent call for an arms control dialogue in Northeast Asia to prevent nuclear armaments in South Korea and Japan, and encourage nuclear disarmament in North Korea, China and Russia, as well as the cessation of US nuclear arms in the region.

China’s UN ambassador, Zhang Jun, said on Wednesday that the U.S.-drafted resolution was “not an appropriate way to address the current situation.”

North Korea has been subject to UN sanctions since 2006 over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

United Nations taking action on North Korea

The United States called out China and Russia on Wednesday for opposing further United Nations action on North Korea, warning that the Security Council “cannot stay silent any longer” as Pyongyang prepares for a seventh nuclear test.

“Silence and restraint have not worked,” Thomas-Greenfield told a council meeting convened by the United States on North Korea’s latest ballistic missile launches. “It is time to stop providing tacit permission and to start taking action.”

The council last tightened sanctions on Pyongyang in 2017. But North Korea has successfully worked to evade some U.N. sanctions, according to independent U.N. sanctions monitors.

North Korea has been subject to U.N. sanctions since 2006 over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The United States would like the 15-member Security Council to vote during May on a U.S.-drafted resolution to further sanction Pyongyang.

 

China and Russia have opposed further U.N. sanctions and have long been pushing for the council to ease such measures on North Korea on humanitarian grounds.

China’s U.N. ambassador, Zhang Jun, said on Wednesday that the U.S.-drafted resolution was “not an appropriate way to address the current situation.”

“Regrettably, the U.S. has turned a blind eye to reasonable proposals of China and other relevant council members, and remains enamoured superstitiously of the magical power of sanctions,” Zhang told the council.

Russia’s deputy U.N. ambassador, Anna Evstigneeva said that further sanctions would “threaten North Korean citizens with unacceptable socioeconomic and humanitarian problems,” while Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jun urged the council “to consider how to accommodate the DPRK’s justified security concerns.”

Anna Evstigneeva said the resolution drafted by Russia and China to ease North Korean sanctions “remains on the table” and “could encourage parties to step up the negotiation efforts.”