U.S. warns of China’s concerns over Russia-North Korea ties

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said on Monday that China has signalled that it is concerned about Russia's closeness to North Korea. Beijing fears that Moscow's support for the regime in Pyongyang could lead to aggressive actions and potentially trigger a crisis.

- I think it is fair to say that China is somewhat anxious about what's going on between Russia and North Korea. They have indicated so in some of our interactions, and we can see some tension associated with this - said Campbell during a conference organized by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), which focused on China.

The U.S. Deputy Secretary of State noted that the dynamics of relations between Moscow and Beijing are "fascinating." Despite a deep strategic "partnership" regarding Ukraine, tensions exist between these two countries concerning, among other things, the Arctic, Central Asia, and now North Korea.

"China is probably worried that North Korea will be encouraged to take provocative steps that could lead to a crisis in Northeast Asia," he assessed.

The U.S. Deputy Secretary of State admitted that the rapprochement between Moscow and Pyongyang also worries the United States. He emphasized that an analysis is ongoing regarding the implications of Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent visit to North Korea.

- We believe that there are discussions about what North Korea gets in exchange 9for supporting Russia in war with Ukraine), and they could be associated with its nuclear or long-range missile-development plans, perhaps other things in energy and the like - said Campbell. He noted that Kim Jong Un's regime has provided Russia with a "vast" amount of artillery ammunition.

Campbell announced that the U.S., together with South Korea, is considering appropriate steps to respond to the growing cooperation between these two hostile states.