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The Chinese delegation, led by Communist Party Politburo official Li Hongzhong, made the trip to Pyongyang to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War.

It was the first visit by Chinese officials since the Covid-19 pandemic.

The KCNA said it was “reaffirmed at the talk the stand of the parties and governments of the two countries to cope with the complicated international situation on their own initiative.”

Both China and North Korea view the increasing presence and interference of the United States’ military in the region as a threat to peace and security.

North Korea has tested a record number of ballistic missiles this year in response to the rising number of war games and live fire drills that the U.S. is conducting with South Korea, which Pyongyang considers as rehearsals for the invasion of its territory.

Washington’s decision to dispatch a nuclear-armed submarine to the Korean Peninsula for the first time in four decades, which arrived in the South Korean port city of Busan on July 18, saw the North responding with the test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
The South Korean Defense Ministry said in a statement that Washington and Seoul intend to “strengthen their special warfare capabilities”.
The U.S. increased tensions further last week by sending a second nuclear-powered submarine to the South.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has unveiled a weapons aid package worth up to $345 million to separatist forces in the Chinese province of Taiwan, a move that angers Beijing.

The U.S. Congress authorized up to $1 billion worth of Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) weapons aid for Taiwan.

Four sources have told Reuters the package was expected to include at least four American MQ-9A reconnaissance drones.

China is strongly opposed to American military and diplomatic support for Taiwan, a self-ruled island that Beijing considers an integral part of its territory and views U.S. support for separatist forces as attempts to contain the second – soon to be first – economy in the world.

Beijing has repeatedly demanded the U.S., Taiwan’s main arms supplier, to end the sale of weapons to the island.

The formal announcement did not include a list of weapon systems being provided.

China has long sought the peaceful reunification with the island but has not dropped the use of force from the table.

Foreshadowing the upcoming aid, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on May 16 told a Senate panel: “I’m pleased that the United States will soon provide significant additional security assistance to Taiwan through the Presidential Drawdown Authority that Congress authorized last year.”

Earlier this month, the top U.S. general said the United States and its allies need to speed up the delivery of weapons to Taiwan in the coming years.
The PDA has been used on an emergency basis to expedite security assistance to Ukraine by allowing the president to transfer weapons from the U.S. stockpiles.
Experts say the meeting between the North Korean leader and a Chinese delegation comes on a very important day marking the 70th anniversary of the signing of the armistice on the Korean Peninsula after the U.S. invasion in June 1950 in what was a very deadly war.

The U.S. remained in the South and partitioned the country. Efforts by the North to reunify have been thwarted by the U.S. ever since, especially by completely militarizing the Asia-Pacific. Experts believe it has reached a stage where North Korea and China feel they need to cooperate and that Beijing will help the North’s economy develop, which will be welcomed by the majority of countries in the region.

While former South Korean government of President Moon Jae-in sought a diplomatic solution to the crisis on the Peninsula by taking some historic steps, the current government of President Yoon Suk Yeol is seeking a forceful approach to the anger of Pyongyang.
A considerable percentage of people in South Korea prefer diplomatic approach with the North as evidenced by the protests against joint military drills with the United States.
Anti-U.S. rallies are not something rare in the South over the years, where protesters are wary that growing military ties with America could lead to the possibility of another conflict on the peninsula.

The protests are almost always ignored by the U.S. news coverage, which tends to have a strict policy of focusing on North Korean “threats” instead.

The China-North Korea meeting came a day after Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu made a rare trip to Pyongyang where he held talks with his North Korean counterpart on the sidelines of the ceremonies marking the end of the Korean War.
Those ceremonies included the North showcasing its latest and advanced equipment in a military parade.
Russia announced that Shoigu spoke with North Korean Defense Minister Kang Sun-nam while hailing traditionally close ties between the two nations and remarked that his trip comes as Pyongyang celebrates “the 70th anniversary of the victory… in the Great Fatherland Liberation War,” adding that the Korean People’s Army prevailed “over a strong and cruel enemy.”
The 1950-53 Korean War is considered as one of the bloodiest conflicts in modern history, with an estimated three million casualties on both sides.
While Seoul and Pyongyang never signed a peace treaty, an armistice established a demilitarized zone, dividing the Korean peninsula in two.

“I am convinced that today’s talks will help strengthen cooperation between our defense departments,” Russian media cited Shoigu as saying.
North Korea is among the many countries that have refused to follow an unprecedented U.S.-led sanctions campaign against Russia in response to its “special military campaign” in Ukraine.

The majority of the international community has refused to take sides and have been calling for a peaceful resolution instead. The U.S.-led NATO military alliance has been accused of prolonging the conflict at the expense of Ukrainian people.

The U.S. administration of President Joe Biden, in particular, is seeking to see the war dragging on until the next presidential election as wartime presidents in America tend to rarely lose at the ballot boxes.
International concern is now growing as NATO is seeking to extend its military presence to the Asia-Pacific.

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Both China and North Korea view the increasing U.S. military presence in the region as a threat to peace and security.

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According to North Korean media, the two latest “surface-to-surface tactical guided missiles” had been fired from a coastal area on Thursday and were armed with a conventional warhead.

North Korean Media say the missiles “precisely hit the target” and noted the “explosive power” of the conventional warhead, saying “the practical combat performance of the long-range cruise missile system would hold a reliable share in boosting the war deterrence of the country”.

KCNA also confirmed Tuesday’s launches were two long-range cruise missiles that the North had first tested in September.

“The two missiles flew for more than two hours and 35 minutes and demonstrated an ability to strike targets 1,800 kilometers (1,118 miles) away, a performance that underscored their value in boosting the war deterrence of the country,” the agency said.

Experts say the latest series of launches are the highest number of missiles test-fired by North Korea in a single month as Pyongyang begins 2022 with a rattling display of new and sophisticated weapons.

On Thursday, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it had detected the launch of what Seoul said it presumed were two ballistic missiles from near Hamhung, on the east coast of North Korea. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said they had traveled for about 190 km and reached an altitude of 20 km.

The latest launches are the sixth round of tests the North has carried out this month and have drawn condemnation from the United States.

A few weeks ago, Pyongyang said it will be bolstering its defenses against the U.S. and consider resuming “all temporally-suspended activities”, in what analysts have said is an apparent reference to a self-imposed moratorium on tests of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles.

Earlier in the month, North Korea tested tactical guided missiles, two “hypersonic missiles” capable of high speed and maneuvering after lift-off, and a railway-borne missile system.

Analysts have pointed out that some of the tests are aimed at developing new capabilities, for the most part, to evade missile defenses, while other tests are planned to give an idea of the preparedness and ability to adapt to different scenarios.

Analysts have also noted that the aim is to display some of Pyongyang’s missile forces that North Korea has already deployed.

Leader Kim Jong Un has called on the North Korean military to counter threats from the United States and its regional allies.

This week, state media said Kim had visited an unidentified “important” munitions factory, underscoring his vow not only to improve capabilities but mass-produce and deploy more weapons.

State media also says Kim has called on the military to boost the country’s strategic military forces as he observed the test of a hypersonic missile, officially attending a missile launch for the first time in nearly two years.

The KCNA news agency reported that
after watching the test, Kim urged military scientists to “further accelerate the efforts to steadily build up the country’s strategic military muscle both in quality and quantity and further modernize the army,”.

Unlike some other recent tests, the ruling party’s newspaper Rodong Sinmun has published photos of Kim attending the launch on its front page.

Analysts say while Kim may have unofficially attended other tests, this appearance and its Page One feature on Rodong Sinmun means he is not concerned about being personally associated with tests of major new technology and does not care how Washington interprets this.

Many analysts say North Korea has every right to advance its military defensive capabilities just like any other country and that the heavy American military presence on its borders are the destabilizing factor.

So far this month, North Korea said it tested a new type of hypersonic missile on January 5 and again on January 11, with Kim Jong Unreported to have attended the second launch.

Hypersonic weapons usually fly towards targets at lower altitudes than ballistic missiles and can achieve more than five times the speed of sound – or about 6,200 km per hour.

Despite their name, analysts say the main feature of hypersonic weapons is not speeding but their maneuverability, which help evade missile defense systems.

On January 14 North Korea launched a pair of short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) from a train near the northern border with China, in what state media said was a short-notice drill aimed at boosting the proficiency of the troops operating the missiles.

North Korea first tested the rail-based system in September, saying it was designed as a potential counter-strike to any threatening forces.

According to analysts rail-mobile missiles are an efficient option to improve the survivability of nuclear forces, making it difficult for enemies to detect and destroy them before being fired,

Experts say the missiles appear to be KN-23 SRBMs, which were first tested in May 2019 and are designed to evade missile defenses by flying on a lower, “depressed” trajectory,
North Korea fired another pair of KN-23 missiles, this time from a wheeled launching vehicle.

State media said the tests confirmed the “explosive power” of its conventional warhead.

On January 17, North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) in a rare test from an airport in its capital, Pyongyang.

According to state media, the pair of missiles “precisely hit an island target” off the east coast. Analysts said the missiles appeared to be KN-24 SRBMs which were last tested in March 2020 and appear to have entered mass production and deployment with military units.

Talks aimed at denuclearization have stalled after the United States wanted Pyongyang to abandon it nuclear and missiles program first in exchange for sanctions relief afterward. North Korea says it is open to diplomacy but only if the United States and its allies stop “hostile policies” such as sanctions or military drills.

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