As Russian President Vladimir Putin glided through the crowd-lined streets of Pyongyang atop a luxury Mercedes-Benz alongside his North Korean host Kim Jong Un this week, the two autocrats’ most important partner was watching from the sidelines hundreds of miles away in Beijing.
Five years ago, Xi Jinping was offered the same open-top ride with Kim when he became the first Chinese leader to visit Pyongyang in 14 years. At the time, the two leaders vowed to strengthen ties and deepen cooperation, but the language paled in comparison with the “breakthrough” new partnership struck by Kim and Putin last week.
In a wide-ranging treaty spanning political, trade, investment, and security cooperation, North Korea and Russia pledged to use all available means to provide immediate military assistance in the event the other is attacked.
Putin said Russia and North Korea have ramped up ties to a “new level.” Kim, meanwhile, called the new “alliance” a “watershed moment” in bilateral relations.
The new landmark defense pact agreed by the two nuclear-armed regimes rattled the United States and its Asian allies. Japan voiced “grave concerns” about Putin’s vow not to rule out cooperation with Pyongyang on military technology. South Korea responded by convening an emergency national security meeting and said it would now consider sending arms to Ukraine.
In contrast, the reaction from China, the main political and economic patron for both Russia and North Korea, has been all but muted.
A spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the treaty, calling it a bilateral matter between Russia and North Korea.
