US warns of China, North Korea backing Russia in Ukraine war

CNN
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The question was not directed at President Joe Biden, but his determination to provide an answer created a revealing moment about the war in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war machine and rising tensions between the United States and China.

When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was asked at a news conference in Italy last week whether China was selling weapons of war to Russia, Biden, standing next to him, waited for Zelensky to say that Xi Jinping had told him not to, before ending the press conference with a farewell speech: “By the way, China is not supplying weapons, it’s providing the capabilities to make those weapons and the technology needed to do so. So China is actually helping Russia.”

The comments appeared to signal a hardening of the U.S. stance toward Beijing after months of warnings that it should not aid Moscow’s friends over the war.NATO Chief Executive Jens Stoltenberg reinforced the new tough stance during a visit to Washington on Monday that included an Oval Office meeting with Biden.

“President Xi Jinping is publicly trying to create the impression that he is backing down in this conflict to avoid sanctions and keep trade flowing, but the reality is that China is stoking the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II,” Stoltenberg said at the Wilson Center. “At the same time, China wants to maintain good relations with the West. Beijing can’t have both at the same time. At some point, allies will have to impose a cost unless China changes course.”

Concerns that America’s enemies are supporting Russia’s war effort are sure to be heightened by Putin’s looming visit to North Korea for what the Kremlin has described as a “very eventful” series of events, including a meeting with Kim Jong Un, the isolated Stalinist state’s authoritarian leader.

The idea of ​​an anti-American front between Russia, China, North Korea and Iran has long vexed foreign policy experts in Washington. Until recently, U.S. intelligence agencies assessed that a formal alliance was unlikely due to differences between the unstable partners. But these powers share a major commonality: they want to thwart U.S. goals and power. Also, each is ruled by a brutal dictatorship, and is threatened by the democracies that unite the United States and its European and Asian allies.

The announcement that Putin was heading to Pyongyang raised alarm bells in Washington and prompted expressions of concern across government.

In March, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told Congress that Russia’s need to replenish its military supplies had forced it to make “long-overdue concessions” to North Korea. Haines did not specify the scope of the cooperation, but her comments sparked speculation that Moscow was providing nuclear and missile expertise. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell added fuel to the intrigue last week when he said at a Stimson Center event that North Korea was embarking on a series of “provocative” actions, including supplying artillery and missiles to Russia.

“We are well aware of what North Korea has offered Russia and it has had a tremendous impact on the battlefield,” he added.

But the US doesn’t seem to understand what Kim Jong Un will get in return.

“What is Russia planning to offer North Korea? Hard currency? Energy? Capabilities to enable the development of nuclear weapons and missile products?” Campbell said. “We don’t know, but we are concerned and we are watching closely.”

“The full scope of relations between Russia and North Korea is something we are watching closely and are concerned about,” he added.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Monday that North Korea had illegally transferred dozens of ballistic missiles and more than 11,000 containers of munitions to support Russia’s war effort. “We have seen these munitions discovered on battlefields in Ukraine, so we know North Korea is using North Korean munitions to threaten Ukraine and kill Ukrainians,” he said.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the US wasn’t concerned about Putin’s visit but was watching it closely for any escalation of the security situation in Ukraine and Northeast Asia. “What we are concerned about is the deepening relationship between the two countries, not just because of the impact on the Ukrainian people, but because we know that North Korean ballistic missiles are still being used to strike targets in Ukraine, but there may be interactions that could have implications for security on the Korean peninsula,” Kirby added. “We’ll certainly be watching this very closely.”

Putin and Kim Jong Un clearly know that Washington is watching.

In an article in North Korea’s official newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, the Russian leader wrote that he “highly appreciates North Korea’s unwavering support for Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine.”

He called the reclusive nation a “committed and like-minded supporter” of Russia, ready to stand up to the ambitions of the West.

This story has been updated with additional developments.