China, Russia step up dual-track engagement with 2 Koreas

China and Russia are pursuing dual-track diplomacy with both Koreas, as top officials have visited North Korea and are planning to visit South Korea for different diplomatic events. The back-to-back visits are drawing attention to Beijing and Moscow’s diplomatic outreach on the Korean Peninsula, underscoring their growing regional ambitions. Considering that both countries historically have closer ties with Pyongyang than with Seoul, the visits are seen as strategies to maintain amicable ties with the North while improving those with the South to check the Seoul-Washington alliance. Chinese Premier Li Qiang, the country’s second-highest-ranking official after President Xi Jinping, visited Pyongyang on Thursday to attend a military parade on Friday, marking the 80th anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea. It was the first visit by a Chinese premier to Pyongyang since 2018. According to Pyongyang’s state media, Li and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un discussed expanding “strategic communication and cooperation” across multiple fields. Russia sent Dmitry Medvedev, deputWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times