By Ali Karbalaei
Top Chinese delegation visits Pyongyang
TEHRAN - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has hosted a Chinese delegation, where the two sides vowed to "steadily develop the friendship and comradery cooperation onto a new high stage," the North's KCNA news agency reported.
The Chinese delegation, led by Communist Party Politburo official Li Hongzhong, made the trip to Pyongyang to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War.
It was the first visit by Chinese officials since the Covid-19 pandemic.
The KCNA said it was "reaffirmed at the talk the stand of the parties and governments of the two countries to cope with the complicated international situation on their own initiative."
Both China and North Korea view the increasing presence and interference of the United States' military in the region as a threat to peace and security.
North Korea has tested a record number of ballistic missiles this year in response to the rising number of war games and live fire drills that the U.S. is conducting with South Korea, which Pyongyang considers as rehearsals for the invasion of its territory.
Washington's decision to dispatch a nuclear-armed submarine to the Korean Peninsula for the first time in four decades, which arrived in the South Korean port city of Busan on July 18, saw the North responding with the test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
The South Korean Defense Ministry said in a statement that Washington and Seoul intend to "strengthen their special warfare capabilities".
The U.S. increased tensions further last week by sending a second nuclear-powered submarine to the South.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has unveiled a weapons aid package worth up to $345 million to separatist forces in the Chinese province of Taiwan, a move that angers Beijing.
The U.S. Congress authorized up to $1 billion worth of Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) weapons aid for Taiwan.
Four sources have told Reuters the package was expected to include at least four American MQ-9A reconnaissance drones.
China is strongly opposed to American military and diplomatic support for Taiwan, a self-ruled island that Beijing considers an integral part of its territory and views U.S. support for separatist forces as attempts to contain the second - soon to be first - economy in the world.
Beijing has repeatedly demanded the U.S., Taiwan's main arms supplier, to end the sale of weapons to the island.
The formal announcement did not include a list of weapon systems being provided.
China has long sought the peaceful reunification with the island but has not dropped the use of force from the table.
Foreshadowing the upcoming aid, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on May 16 told a Senate panel: "I'm pleased that the United States will soon provide significant additional security assistance to Taiwan through the Presidential Drawdown Authority that Congress authorized last year."
Earlier this month, the top U.S. general said the United States and its allies need to speed up the delivery of weapons to Taiwan in the coming years.
The PDA has been used on an emergency basis to expedite security assistance to Ukraine by allowing the president to transfer weapons from the U.S. stockpiles.
Experts say the meeting between the North Korean leader and a Chinese delegation comes on a very important day marking the 70th anniversary of the signing of the armistice on the Korean Peninsula after the U.S. invasion in June 1950 in what was a very deadly war.
The U.S. remained in the South and partitioned the country. Efforts by the North to reunify have been thwarted by the U.S. ever since, especially by completely militarizing the Asia-Pacific. Experts believe it has reached a stage where North Korea and China feel they need to cooperate and that Beijing will help the North's economy develop, which will be welcomed by the majority of countries in the region.
While former South Korean government of President Moon Jae-in sought a diplomatic solution to the crisis on the Peninsula by taking some historic steps, the current government of President Yoon Suk Yeol is seeking a forceful approach to the anger of Pyongyang.
A considerable percentage of people in South Korea prefer diplomatic approach with the North as evidenced by the protests against joint military drills with the United States.
Anti-U.S. rallies are not something rare in the South over the years, where protesters are wary that growing military ties with America could lead to the possibility of another conflict on the peninsula.
The protests are almost always ignored by the U.S. news coverage, which tends to have a strict policy of focusing on North Korean "threats" instead.
The China-North Korea meeting came a day after Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu made a rare trip to Pyongyang where he held talks with his North Korean counterpart on the sidelines of the ceremonies marking the end of the Korean War.
Those ceremonies included the North showcasing its latest and advanced equipment in a military parade.
Russia announced that Shoigu spoke with North Korean Defense Minister Kang Sun-nam while hailing traditionally close ties between the two nations and remarked that his trip comes as Pyongyang celebrates “the 70th anniversary of the victory… in the Great Fatherland Liberation War,” adding that the Korean People’s Army prevailed “over a strong and cruel enemy.”
The 1950-53 Korean War is considered as one of the bloodiest conflicts in modern history, with an estimated three million casualties on both sides.
While Seoul and Pyongyang never signed a peace treaty, an armistice established a demilitarized zone, dividing the Korean peninsula in two.
“I am convinced that today’s talks will help strengthen cooperation between our defense departments,” Russian media cited Shoigu as saying.
North Korea is among the many countries that have refused to follow an unprecedented U.S.-led sanctions campaign against Russia in response to its "special military campaign" in Ukraine.
The majority of the international community has refused to take sides and have been calling for a peaceful resolution instead. The U.S.-led NATO military alliance has been accused of prolonging the conflict at the expense of Ukrainian people.
The U.S. administration of President Joe Biden, in particular, is seeking to see the war dragging on until the next presidential election as wartime presidents in America tend to rarely lose at the ballot boxes.
International concern is now growing as NATO is seeking to extend its military presence to the Asia-Pacific.
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Both China and North Korea view the increasing U.S. military presence in the region as a threat to peace and security.
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