Japan urged to lead G7 efforts to address closer ties between Russia, North Korea
The Group of Seven nations are expressing heightened concern over the intensifying cooperation between Russia and North Korea, as Pyongyang has allegedly received military technologies from Moscow in exchange for transferring missiles.
North Korea strengthening its missile capabilities with Russian support has raised concerns among foreign affairs observers, who are urging Japan – the sole Asian member of the G7 – to take a leading role in addressing the regional threat.
In a communique at this year’s summit in Italy, the G7, comprising Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States plus the European Union, condemned “in the strongest possible terms” arms transfers from North Korea to Russia as violating United Nations Security Council resolutions.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un also visited the Vostochny space launch centre in Russia in September 2023 under President Vladimir Putin’s guidance, sparking speculation that Moscow gave aerospace technologies to Pyongyang.
In fact, around two months after Kim returned home from Russia, North Korea announced it had successfully launched a reconnaissance satellite. The liftoff followed two unsuccessful attempts last year to place such an object into orbit.
Expectations are rife that Putin will visit North Korea soon. If realised, his trip there would be his first since 2000, when Kim’s late father led the country.
Moscow and Pyongyang had been trying to develop closer “win-win” relations “based on their mutual interests”, said Akiko Yoshioka, a specialist in Russian policies at the Canon Institute for Global Studies in Tokyo.
“As the war in Ukraine drags on and Russia has faced shortages of ammunition and human resources,” North Korea had provided a well-timed opportunity for Moscow, which had sought to garner support from other nations, Yoshioka added.
For North Korea, stronger ties with Russia could help prevent the UN Security Council from imposing additional sanctions on its nuclear and missile programmes, said Hiromi Kamoshita, an associate professor at Konan Women’s University in western Japan.
The move would allow Pyongyang to further reinforce its national security, the specialist in Korean studies said, adding relations between Russia and North Korea would remain solid for as long as Moscow continued its war in Ukraine.
A long-standing UN panel tasked with overseeing the enforcement of sanctions on North Korea ended its activities in late April, with a Russian veto blocking its reauthorisation.
As the UN may no longer function effectively, the analysts said a surveillance network on North Korea should be built by the G7 and other like-minded countries, urging Japan, being directly under North Korea’s military threat, to lead the initiative.
Under the challenging security circumstances, the observers also underscored the importance of Beijing’s involvement, noting that China, which is North Korea’s closest and most influential ally, likely did not want to be seen as forming a bloc with Pyongyang and Moscow.
China had apparently been “harbouring ill feelings” against the deepening Russia-North Korea ties, given that Moscow’s increasing engagement with Pyongyang would, in turn, undermine Beijing’s clout over the North, Kamoshita said.
“Japan and the G7 members have no choice but to consistently urge China to act as a regional power responsible for security” in the Asia-Pacific, she added.