US raises concerns about cozying relations between Russia and North Korea

CNN —

North Korea watchers in Washington have fixated recently on Pyongyang’s abrupt destruction last month of a key monument dedicated to reunifying the Korean Peninsula — a move that some outside analysts view as a precursor to war with South Korea amid typically bellicose rhetoric from leader Kim Jong Un.

But US officials and North Korea analysts who spoke to CNN on the condition of anonymity say the uproar over the reunification arch obscures a far greater strategic threat: North Korea’s burgeoning partnership with Russia.

Intelligence officials in Washington are increasingly concerned about the growing ties between North Korea and Russia, and the long-term implications of what appears to be a new level of strategic partnership between the two nations, according to multiple officials familiar with the latest intelligence.

Russia has repeatedly fired North Korean-supplied short-range ballistic missiles at Ukrainian targets in recent weeks. In January, high-ranking North Korean and Russian diplomats met in Moscow in advance of what North Korean state media says is a forthcoming visit to Pyongyang by Russian President Vladimir Putin himself — his first in more than 20 years.

The Biden administration is concerned enough that national security adviser Jake Sullivan raised the issue with the Chinese foreign minister during a January meeting, a senior White House official told reporters late last month.

If North Korea is able to use a tighter relationship with Russia to loosen China’s influence, officials fear, that could remove what some believe has been an important handbrake on Pyongyang’s nuclear testing program.

“I think [Kim] is constantly looking for some kind of an edge,” a senior defense official said.