Is US pressure on China, North Korea leading to new Cold War?

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, right, and Chinese President Xi Jinping wave to people on a street in Pyongyang, June 20, 2019. Korea Times file

Chinese, Russian top diplomats demonstrate unity against US

By Kang Seung-woo

The U.S.' moves to rally its allies against North Korea and China are raising the specter of a new Cold War, according to diplomatic observers, with the totalitarian states, along with Russia, teaming up to address the "hostile policy," Tuesday.

The new era of geopolitical rivalry is putting South Korea in the hot seat, given that Seoul is maintaining deep partnerships with both Washington and Beijing.

The latest sign of a second Cold War came, Tuesday, the day after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping exchanged verbal messages, which confirmed the two countries' bilateral cooperation.

According to Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim "stressed the need to strengthen the unity and cooperation between the two parties and two countries to cope with the hostile forces' all-round challenges and obstructive moves."

In response, Xi unveiled his willingness to work with North Korea and other related parties to "uphold the political settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue and preserve peace and stability on the peninsula," according to Chinese state media Xinhua.

Their exchange came as the U.S. is sharpening its criticism of China and North Korea by strengthening its alliance with friendly Asian countries.

Starting with holding a summit of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), the Joe Biden administration dispatched its secretaries of state and defense to South Korea and Japan and stressed the importance of trilateral cooperation to deal with issues involving North Korea and China.

The Quad is an anti-China strategic forum comprised of Australia, India, Japan and the U.S., and the Biden team wants South Korea to join it as part of the Quad Plus along with New Zealand and Vietnam.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is also traveling to Europe to strengthen its partnership with NATO, which is now working to address the risks China presents to U.S.-NATO shared security interests, democracy and the rules-based international order, according to them.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, left, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi bump elbows during their meeting in Guilin, China, Monday. EPA-Yonhap

In response to the U.S. moves, China is also seeking to beef up its alliance with its like-minded partners, particularly Russia and North Korea.

Earlier this week, China held a foreign ministerial meeting with Russia to cement ties against the U.S.' firm policy push, and both sides agreed that the U.S. should take a hard look at the damage it has done to world peace and development and stop its bullying practice of ganging up on others and meddling in other countries' internal affairs.

After the meeting, they issued a joint statement, Tuesday, calling on other countries to refrain from politicizing human rights issues and using them to interfere in domestic affairs, a response to the U.S. criticism of human rights violations in those countries. Biden in a recent interview called Russian leader Vladimir Putin a "killer" amid allegations that he attempted to assassinate Russian opposition figure and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny.

"The U.S.-China rivalry seems to be heading toward a new Cold War as the two countries are competing to form a network with its allies or friendly nations," said Shin Beom-chul, director of the Center for Diplomacy and Security at the Korea Research Institute for National Strategy, adding that the North Korean regime's foreign policy is taking advantage of the Chinese government's anti-U.S. policy.

For South Korea, the U.S. is a long-time security ally, while China is its top trading partner; in that sense, Seoul is placed in an awkward position amid the hegemonic competition.

"As the South Korean government has remained ambiguous about whom to side with, pressure from both sides will increase that will urge South Korea to choose between the U.S. and China," said Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University.

"China sees South Korea as the weakest link of the U.S. strategy and the Russian foreign minister's visit to Seoul this week is also a part of its efforts to alienate South Korea from the U.S."