Ukrainian
President Volodymyr Zelensky was asked at a press conference in Italy last week
about whether China was selling Russia arms for use in the war. Biden, who was
standing beside him, waited for Zelensky to say President Xi Jinping told him
he would not do so, before delivering a parting shot and ending the event. “By
the way, China is not supplying weapons but the ability to produce those
weapons and the technology available to do it. So, it is, in fact, helping
Russia.”
The
comment appeared to signal a hardening tone toward Beijing following months of
US warnings that it shouldn’t help its friends in Moscow over the war. NATO
Secretary Jens Stoltenberg reinforced the tough new line during a visit to
Washington Monday that included Oval Office talks with Biden.
“Publicly, President Xi has tried
to create the impression that he’s taking a back seat in this conflict to avoid
sanctions and keep trade flowing. But the reality is that China’s fueling the
largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II,” Stoltenberg said at The
Wilson Center. “At the same time, it wants to maintain good relations with the
West. Well, Beijing cannot have it both ways. At some point, and unless China
changes course, allies need to impose a cost.”
Concerns that America’s enemies are aiding Russia’s war effort are
sure to grow with the impending trip by Putin to North Korea, which the Kremlin
said would have a “very eventful” list of events, including with the isolated
Stalinist state’s tyrannical leader Kim Jong Un.
The idea of an anti-US front among Russia, China, North Korea and
Iran has long preoccupied foreign policy experts in Washington. Up until
recently, US intelligence agencies have assessed that differences between the
uneasy partners make formal alliances unlikely. But all those powers have one
big thing in common: a desire to thwart American goals and power. Each is also
subject to a brutal autocratic regime that is threatened by the democracy that
unites the US and its European and Asian allies.
The announcement that Putin is headed to Pyongyang raised the state
of alert in Washington and caused expressions of concern from across the
government.
In March, US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told
Congress that Russia’s need to replenish its military supplies had forced it to
grant “long-sought concessions” to North Korea. She did not specify the extent
of the cooperation, but her comment sparked speculation that Moscow was
offering nuclear or missile expertise. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell
added to the intrigue last week when he said at a Stimson Center event that the
North Koreans have embarked on a series of “provocative” actions including by
supplying Russia with artillery and missiles.
And he added: “We have a very good understanding of what North
Korea has provided Russia and they have had a substantial impact on the
battlefield.”
But the US doesn’t seem to know what Kim will get in return.
“What is Russia going to provide in exchange to North
Korea, hard currency? Is it energy? Is it capabilities that allow them to
advance their nuclear or missile products?” Campbell said. “We don’t know but
we are concerned by that and are watching carefully.”
He added: “The entire scope of the Russia/North Korea relationship
is something we follow carefully and are concerned about.”
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Monday that North
Korea had unlawfully transferred dozens of ballistic missiles and over 11,000
containers of munitions to aid Russia’s war effort. “We have seen those
munitions show up on the battlefield in Ukraine. So, we know that they are
using DPRK ammunition to threaten Ukraine and kill Ukrainians,” he said.
And White House national security communications adviser John Kirby
said that while the US wasn’t concerned about Putin’s trip, it was looking to
see whether it worsened security conditions in Ukraine and in Northeast Asia.
“What we are concerned about is the deepening relationship between these two
countries not just because of the impacts it’s going to have on the Ukrainian
people, because we know North Korean ballistic missiles are still being used to
hit Ukrainian targets, but because there could be some reciprocity here that
could affect security on the Korean Peninsula.” Kirby added: “We’re certainly
going to be watching that very, very closely.”
Putin and Kim clearly know Washington is watching.
In an article in North Korea’s official Rodong
Sinmun newspaper, the Russian leader wrote: “We highly appreciate the
DPRK’s unwavering support for Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine.”
And he called the isolated state Russia’s “committed
and like-minded supporter, ready to confront the ambition of the collective
West.”
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