Shoigu, who is overseeing the invasion of Ukraine, was the first Russian defense minister to visit North Korea since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
The message was unequivocal: Russia and China are standing by North Korea despite its nuclear and weapons buildup. It also signaled that, after more than three years of strict border closures, North Korea is slowly beginning to crack open its doors.
At Thursday night’s parade, North Korea showcased new drones and some of its short-range missiles that are designed to carry nuclear warheads, state media said.
Earlier in the week, Kim guided Shoigu through a defense exhibition featuring ballistic missiles that are banned under the U.N. Security Council resolutions originally adopted with support from Russia and China. In recent years, Beijing and Moscow have hampered the council’s efforts to punish North Korea after repeated tests of the banned missiles.
“China and Russia are special partners for North Korea at this moment,” said Wi Sung-lac, former South Korean ambassador to Russia. “In effect, China and Russia are sort of enablers for North Korea to go ahead with the nuclear and missile program. … That’s very much worrisome and frustrating.”
The Korean War ended with an armistice agreement signed on July 27, 1953. But the two Koreas remain technically at war because there was never an official peace treaty. According to Pyongyang’s official version of events, it was the victim of South Korean and American aggression, and victor of the war.
North Korea celebrates the anniversary as “Victory Day,” while South Korea marks the beginning of its security alliance with the United States.
At the end of World War II, the then Soviet Union helped usher in a communist regime in the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and supported leader Kim Il Sung’s invasion of the pro-American South in 1950. The Chinese fought side-by-side with the North Koreans in the war.
The delegations’ visits came as Beijing and Moscow have drawn Pyongyang closer in an effort to reduce U.S. influence in the region. China has made a strategic overture to North Korea since the collapse of U.S.-North Korea diplomatic talks in 2019. Meanwhile, Pyongyang has become a vocal supporter of Moscow, even becoming one of five countries that declined to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russia and North Korea vowed to bolster their “militant friendship and cooperation” to “cope with the ever-changing regional and international security environment,” according to Pyongyang’s official report. Shoigu read a congratulatory speech sent by Russian President Vladimir Putin, state media said.
U.S. intelligence officials have said Russia is buying artillery shells and rockets from North Korea, a claim that Pyongyang has denied.
Shoigu’s visit was a stark contrast to South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s visit to Kyiv this month, pledging a new batch of military supplies and more humanitarian aid to support Ukraine.
“The current situation facing Ukraine reminds us of the past situation of the Republic of Korea,” Yoon said in a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, referring to the 1950 North Korean invasion of the South.
Meanwhile, the United States, South Korea and Japan are increasing their security cooperation in the face of North Korean threats, and the leaders of the three countries are expected next month to hold their first summit not on the sidelines of a multilateral forum.
“On the occasion of this event, North Korea, China and Russian solidarity is highlighted,” Wi, the former South Korean ambassador to Russia, said of this week’s gathering. They are answering signs of solidarity from Seoul, Washington and Tokyo, he said.
North Korea’s reopening to the delegations this week raised questions about whether it may be gearing up for a full border reopening. But state media reports have not indicated whether any policy shifts may be coming.
Li, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress, is the most senior Chinese official to visit North Korea since the start of the pandemic.
Li has served as Communist Party secretary of some of China’s most economically important areas, including Shenzhen and Tianjin. He also gave Kim a personal letter from China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, according to North Korean and Chinese state media.
In 2018, a higher-ranking Chinese official, Li Zhanshu, went to North Korea to mark the anniversary, suggesting that this year Beijing may be slightly downplaying the relationship. Chinese state media has emphasized the ties between the two countries’ communist parties in descriptions of the visit.
At the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s daily press briefings this week, spokeswoman Mao Ning emphasized the historical ties between the neighbors.
“Our two parties and the two countries have had a good tradition of friendly exchanges,” Mao told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday. “Having a high-level Chinese delegation visit the DPRK and mark the occasion shows the high importance both sides attach to our bilateral ties,” she said, using the abbreviation for North Korea’s official name.
China’s new ambassador to North Korea, Wang Yajun, was also in attendance at the 70th anniversary banquet, according to state media. Wang, who took up his post in March, is believed to be the first foreign diplomat to be accredited to Pyongyang since the pandemic.
Meaghan Tobin and Theodora Yu in Taipei, Taiwan, contributed to this report.
