North seeks to repair ties with China while drawing even closer to Russia: Unification Ministry

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North seeks to repair ties with China while drawing even closer to Russia: Unification Ministry

Published: 27 Mar. 2025, 19:03

SEO JI-EUN
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Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

From left, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin [JOONGANG PHOTO]

North Korea is signaling a desire to mend its strained ties with China while intensifying its all-around partnership with Russia, South Korea’s Ministry of Unification said Thursday.

The ministry cited Pyongyang's recent push for Chinese group tours to its northeastern Rason region and the resumption in February of long-stalled construction on the North Korean side of the New Yalu River Bridge as key indicators of outreach to Beijing. Though completed in 2014, the bridge had remained unused due to the absence of necessary infrastructure, such as customs facilities, on the North Korean side.

New satellite imagery released by the ministry showed extensive construction underway at the bridge, which links the Chinese city of Dandong with North Korea's border city of Sinuiju.

Construction resumes on the North Korean side of the long-stalled New Yalu River Bridge, hinting at renewed efforts to open the cross-border route between North Korea's Sinuiju and China's Dandong. [MINISTRY OF UNIFICATION]

The customs facilities on the North Korean side are estimated to span 172,500 square meters — larger than China's 150,000 square meter installation and nearly 3.7 times the size of the Tumen River freight terminal shared with Russia.

Despite these developments, China’s response remains lukewarm.

Group tours have yet to resume, and a ministry official noted that progress in rebuilding ties with Beijing “will take time.”

In contrast, North Korea’s partnership with Russia is rapidly expanding.

"North Korea's diplomatic priority is Russia," the official told reporters. "Pyongyang is pursuing comprehensive exchanges to maximize returns from troop dispatches."

The ministry noted a shift in diplomatic tone.

Since August 2024, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has referred to Russian President Vladimir Putin as “comrade” rather than the more formal “your excellency,” signaling an upgrade in the bilateral relationship.

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said Thursday that preparations are underway for a visit to Russia by Kim this year, according to Russian state-run news agency TASS.

A visit to North Korea by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is also being arranged, Rudenko added.

Although North Korea intensified its anti-U.S. rhetoric in recent months, it appears to be taking a cautious, wait-and-see posture toward the return of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly bragged about his rapport with Kim.

Domestically, the regime is preparing to open the Pyongyang General Hospital in October, the ministry said.

The facility, which resembles top-tier South Korean hospitals such as Samsung Medical Center in scale, is expected to serve the general population — unlike elite-only institutions like Bonghwa Hospital and Namsan Hospital.

However, the hospital remains unequipped with medical devices.

Officials believe Pyongyang is counting on Russian support in the health care sector to meet its opening deadline of Oct. 10, timed to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party. The hospital has also been added to the route of the upcoming Pyongyang International Marathon, suggesting it will serve as state propaganda.

The Unification Ministry attributed North Korea’s accelerated development of infrastructure projects — including the hospital and other regional industrial factories — to increased economic backing from Moscow.

Officials estimated that Pyongyang may receive up to "$3 billion" in economic benefits from its alliance with Russia, amounting to "about 30 percent" of North Korea’s annual budget. While insufficient to revive the overall economy, the funds reportedly enable Kim to pursue his hallmark development projects.

Still, the official noted that “Russia appears not to have fully paid North Korea" for its military support to its war against Ukraine.

On the same day, South Korea’s military confirmed that North Korea had deployed "an additional 3,000 soldiers" to Russia earlier this year.

"Of the approximately 11,000 North Korean troops sent to Russia, about 4,000 have been killed or wounded," the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) reported. “In January and February, around 3,000 additional soldiers were deployed as reinforcements.”

Pyongyang has also provided substantial arms support, including short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs), 170-millimeter self-propelled artillery and over 220 units of 240-millimeter multiple rocket launchers. The JCS warned that these figures could increase depending on battlefield conditions.

North Korean troops have also resumed frontline activities along the demilitarized zone (DMZ), including laying mines and installing barbed-wire fences by adding "dozens to several hundred people" — previously suspended for winter training.

North Korean soldiers evacuate casualties following a landmine explosion along the eastern frontline in this image released by South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff on March 27. [NEWS1]

The JCS said it detected another land mines explosion "several days ago," which resulted in multiple casualties, likely due to rushed operations without adequately prepared replacement troops.

Over 20 similar explosions occurred during border operations in 2024, but this marks the first such incident this year.

North Korean soldiers set up a surveillance camera on Tower No. 34 along the Gyeongui Line, just north of the Military Demarcation Line, in this image released by South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff on March 27. [NEWS1]

The JCS also confirmed that North Korea has completed dismantling 11 power transmission towers along the Gyeongui Line, targeting power lines that South Korea had installed to supply electricity to the now-shuttered Kaesong Industrial Complex. However, the first tower north of the military demarcation line remains intact, and in early February, Pyongyang installed a surveillance camera there as anticipated by South's military.

“This raises the risk of North Korean forces monitoring our activities,” the JCS said, emphasizing that South Korea is maintaining heightened vigilance and operational readiness.

BY SEO JI-EUN [[email protected]]