China considers North Korea to be its sphere of influence. And it does not want destabilization on the Korean Peninsula as a result of Moscow's transfer of modern military equipment, including missile technology, to Pyongyang. Therefore, a representative of Chinese leader Xi Jinping traveled to Washington to discuss the excessive rapprochement between Russia and North Korea.
Source. This was reported by Nikkei Asia.
Liu Jianchao, head of the International Relations Department of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee, recently made an extremely long trip to the United States (January 8-13) – he met with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Deputy National Security Advisor John Feiner, leaders of both parties, and business representatives.
"Liu's important mission in traveling to the United States has a lot to do with the rapid rapprochement between Kim Jong-un and Putin," a person with knowledge of the relations between China, North Korea, and Russia told Nikkei.
Blinken and Liu discussed a wide range of issues, including North Korea, Taiwan, Russia's war in Ukraine and the Middle East, the State Department official said.
Liu, in particular, is responsible for policy on the Korean Peninsula, Nikkei writes.
In August-September last year, the DPRK began supplying artillery shells to Russia (1 million to 2 million have already been shipped, according to US and South Korean intelligence estimates) and may have also transferred several ballistic missiles. In return, experts believe, Russia could share modern military technologies with the DPRK. The countries have announced their intention to develop military-technical cooperation, and Putin is preparing to visit North Korea.
And recently, Kim Jong-un announced that Pyongyang was abandoning peaceful unification with South Korea, a goal that the North Korean authorities have been pursuing since the end of the war.
Rising tensions on the Korean peninsula and other regions of Northeast Asia are beneficial to Moscow, as they will divert the world's attention from what is happening in Ukraine, as it happened after Hamas' attack on Israel in October. In particular, the United States, which helps to ensure the security of South Korea and Japan, will have to deal with the third military conflict.
But such a turn is unfavorable for China: it cannot allow Russia to invade its sphere of influence and pursue its policy there, Nikkei writes. North Korea is increasing its arsenal of missiles that can carry a nuclear warhead. Their improvement with the help of Russian technology seriously increases the risks to China's security. If the DPRK develops cruise missiles and even submarine-launched missiles, they can be directed not only against the United States, South Korea, and Japan, but also against neighboring China.
Background. It was reported that due to the sale of missiles to Russia, North Korea's economy may grow for the first time in 5 years.