Tag: Russia

I don’t think the Chinese really mind the North Koreans having a few nukes for regime security, but the brinkmanship and continual threats against neighboring countries and the lack of Chinese style economic reforms is what I think is really causing the Chinese to snub Kim Jong-un:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may not be able to visit China on his first foreign trip if there is no progress in diplomatic efforts to persuade the North to give up its nuclear ambitions, South Korea’s ambassador to China said Wednesday.

Amb. Kwon Young-se was also cautious when talking about the possibility of a visit by Kim to Russia in May, saying it is too early to conclude that Kim’s trip to Russia would take place.

Kim took the helm of the authoritarian state in late 2011 after his father, Kim Jong-il, died. China is North Korea’s ideological ally and economic lifeline, but their political ties remain strained, particularly after the North’s third nuclear test in early 2013.

Russia has said that Kim would be among those attending the May 9th ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.

“I believe that a visit by Kim Jong-un to China is connected to the issue of denuclearization,” Kwon told Yonhap News Agency in an interview.

“From the perspective of China, there is a clear aspect that it would be burdensome to conduct a highest-level exchange with North Korea at a time when North Korea shows no progress in the nuclear issue,” Kwon said.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but with that all said the Chinese are not about to abandon the regime to collapse either.  They are just not providing as much to the regime as before and the regime may think buddying up to Putin may make up for the economic aid they have lost from the Chinese.

If Kim Jong-un does go to Russia for this trip I would not be surprised if one of the preconditions is that the South Koreans are not invited:

Russia’s foreign minister said Wednesday North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has given a “positive” response to President Vladimir Putin’s invitation to visit Russia in May for the 70th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany.

But Seoul has yet to decide whether President Park Geun-hye will also go.

“The president’s schedule for May has not been fixed and many other events are set to take place,” said Blue House spokesman Min Kyung-wook in a briefing Thursday. “We will be reviewing [whether or not to accept Russia’s invitation] under such circumstances … We are not in a situation yet to rush to come up with a stance.”

On Wednesday, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Kim Jong-un’s response had been “positive, as a first signal.”

Ever since December, when Moscow invited the leaders of both Koreas to an event it plans to hold in May, keen attention has been paid to whether Park and Kim would come face to face for the first time.

If Kim goes to Moscow, it will be the first foreign visit by the 32-year-old ruler since he assumed power in 2011 and his debut on the stage of international diplomacy.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but I guess this is a chance to see if Kim Jong-un is going to try some different diplomacy compared to his father.

It just makes you wonder despite the sanctions how North Korea keeps getting money to try and buy big ticket items like this:

North Korea made an attempt to purchase advanced fighter jets from Russia by sending a special envoy, a senior South Korean military official told the JoongAng Ilbo on Thursday.

“Choe Ryong-hae, who visited Moscow as a special envoy of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in November last year, asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to provide Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets,” the military source said.

Little has been disclosed about the discussions between Choe and Putin. Choe, a member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau and secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of North Korea, met with Putin on Nov. 18 and delivered a letter from Kim, the Russian presidential office has said, without providing further details. The Kremlin said the meeting was not open to the press, and no press conference was arranged afterward.

“The North produces many weapons systems domestically, but it appears to have sought Russia’s help because building fighter jets requires more complex technologies,” said the official. “But because of international sanctions imposed on the North, Russia won’t likely sell it readily.” [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link.

This has the makings of being another possible mass casualty event for South Korea:

Rescuers searched Monday for more than 50 people missing after a South Korean fishing ship they were working on sank amid high waves in the freezing waters of the Bering Sea, officials said. At least one person died.

Authorities rescued seven crew members and recovered one body, but weather and water conditions were complicating the search for the others, an official from the South Korean fisheries and oceans ministry said on condition of anonymity because of office rules.

The crew included 35 Indonesians, 13 Filipinos, 11 South Koreans and one Russian inspector, the official said. Russian authorities said there were 62 people aboard the ship, which sank in the western part of the Bering Sea, near Russia.

The South Korean ministry official said it’s believed that the ship, which was catching pollock, began to list after stormy weather caused seawater to flood its storage areas. The official said the 2,100-ton ship was 35 years old.  [Yahoo via reader tip]

You can read more at the link, but hopefully Russian search and rescue can pull these guys out of the water