North Korea, China - more than just allies

Despite common perceptions that North Korea is a mere extension of Chinese influence, the two countries have long navigated a complex and often fraught relationship, Foreign Affairs highlights.

Last month, the White House confirmed that North Korea—despite having few allies and limited resources—had sent thousands of soldiers to join Russia in its war against Ukraine. Pyongyang had already been supplying Moscow with weapons, and half of Russia’s shells used in the conflict have come from North Korea. However, sending personnel represents a significant escalation in their cooperation. There are other signs of growing ties as well.

In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited North Korea for the first time in over 20 years. This closer relationship has raised concerns in China, North Korea’s primary ally. Chinese officials fear that Russia’s expanding influence over the isolated North Korean regime may come at China’s expense. They are also worried that the United States and its allies in Europe and Asia could strengthen military cooperation in response to the increasingly tight bond between Russia and North Korea. Over the past year, Beijing has reacted to this collaboration by reaching out to North Korea’s regional adversaries.

For example, in May, China held a trilateral summit with South Korea and Japan after a five-year hiatus. On the same day in June that Putin visited Pyongyang, Chinese and South Korean officials held their first security dialogue in Seoul in nearly a decade. This apparent rift between China and North Korea has intrigued many Western security analysts, who have suggested that the United States and its allies should try to exploit the division to drive a wedge between the two countries. 

However, such efforts would likely be in vain. Despite the tension, North Korea remains overwhelmingly dependent on China. Nearly all of its trade, for instance, is with China. While their relationship has not always been smooth over the past 75 years, it has never come close to breaking. Instead of focusing on potential divides between North Korea and China, the United States should focus on collaborating with China to manage North Korea’s unpredictable behavior. 

Both countries have a vested interest in maintaining peace on the Korean Peninsula, and working together to restrain the North Korean regime is the most effective way to achieve that goal. Although North Korea is often perceived today as a mere satellite of China, it is not, in fact, a Chinese vassal, and has long pursued a significant degree of independence in its foreign policy. The two countries have experienced numerous moments of tension throughout their relationship. 

In August 1956, Kim Il-sung, the founder of North Korea and grandfather of the current leader, was furious over Chinese and Soviet involvement in an attempted coup against him and resisted their efforts to dissuade him from purging the officials he believed were complicit in the plot. During China’s Cultural Revolution in the 1960s, Chinese Red Guards even branded Kim as a “counterrevolutionary dictator.” China’s tolerance of open criticism of North Korea’s leadership further strained the relationship. At that time, Pyongyang also played Beijing and Moscow against each other. 

During the 1970s, as China moved toward rapprochement with the United States following the Sino-Soviet split, North Korea hosted Soviet naval ships in its ports and allowed Soviet fighter jets into its airspace. Throughout the 1980s, in response to North Korea’s shift toward Russia, China increased its diplomatic engagement with South Korea. Relations between China and North Korea soured again in 1992, when China formally established diplomatic ties with South Korea, defying Kim Il-sung’s wishes. 

China further antagonized Pyongyang by supporting international sanctions against North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs in 2006. In turn, North Korea often took actions without consulting Beijing on issues with significant security implications for China. After North Korea’s first nuclear test in 2006, Beijing accused Pyongyang of “brazen” actions, a phrase rarely used in official Chinese statements.

By Naila Huseynova