U.S. FORCED to turn to Russia as North Korea’s ties to China cool.
WASHINGTON — China’s increasingly icy posture is thrusting Russia forward as North Korea’s preferred diplomatic partner, forcing President Donald Trump’s administration to turn to Moscow for help in isolating the rogue, nuclear-armed nation.
Beijing’s close ties to Pyongyang have been strained since leader Kim Jong Un ordered the 2013 execution of his uncle, who had been the countries’ chief liaison. Since then, the allies once said to be as “close as lips and teeth” have moved further apart over China’s adoption of United Nations sanctions designed to starve North Korea of revenue for its nuclear and missile programs.
But China isn’t North Korea’s only traditionally friendly neighbor. And for the United States, Russia’s increased importance comes at an uncomfortable time. The State Department on Friday warned countries and companies around the world that they risk being blacklisted if they do business with dozens of Russian firms. Investigations also continue into allegations that Russia interfered in last year’s U.S. presidential election.
“Russia could play a useful diplomatic role,” Joseph Yun, the U.S. envoy to North Korea, said in an Associated Press interview. “If Russia delivers a unified message with the U.S., China, South Korea and Japan that the U.S. is not interested in regime change but rather we want to resolve the [weapons of mass destruction] issue, they can help better than anyone else to convince them of that.”
Yun said he and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson want Moscow to support the international pressure campaign against North Korea by implementing U.N sanctions, and to urge the isolated government to engage in diplomatic efforts. Washington also wants to prevent transfers of weapons technology, amid disputed assessments that North Korea may have acquired a high-performance missile engine through illicit networks in Russia or Ukraine.
Like China, Russia has urged a peaceful resolution as Kim and Trump trade personal insults and threats of war. Russia has cast itself as a potential go-between.
Choe Son-hui, director-general of the North America bureau at North Korea’s Foreign Ministry, has visited Moscow twice in the past month — most recently to attend a nonproliferation conference where she spoke on a panel alongside a nongovernmental American expert and a senior Russian diplomat. Choe also met with Russia’s ambassador to North Korea in Pyongyang last month.
While the North’s ties with China have slumped, relations with Russia remain comparatively smooth. Although Russia, too, has endorsed U.N. sanctions, it maintains fraternal ties with North Korea dating back to when the Soviet Union trained and supported Kim Il Sung, who later founded North Korea.
Russia’s influence goes only so far. Its commerce with the North is minimal compared with China, which accounts for 90 percent of North Korea’s external trade and has agreed to cutting off crucial imports of coal, iron ore and textiles. Such actions prompted rare North Korean criticism of China in state media this year.
So far, Moscow hasn’t threatened to stymie coordinated efforts over separate gripes with Washington. But as relations sour, it’s unclear if they can continue compartmentalizing their cooperation. One bone of contention concerns North Korean laborers in Russia who send significant money back to their government.
A larger question is how Russia might bridge the U.S.North Korean divide. Both reject Chinese and Russian proposals for North Korea to stop nuclear and missile tests if the U.S. and South Korea abandon joint military exercises.