Political Scientist on Xi Jinping’s Visit to North Korea: “Further Escalation Is Underway”

Political scientist Ruslan Bortnik commented on Xi Jinping’s visit to North Korea and assessed what issues might be discussed there—whether it concerns troops for China in a potential conflict over Taiwan or for Putin in the war against Ukraine, according to Politeka.

He spoke about this on his blog.

According to the expert, reports about Xi Jinping’s upcoming visit to North Korea first appeared in a South Korean news agency about a month ago. Incidentally, the news emerged immediately after Putin’s visit to Beijing, but it did not attract much attention.

“North Korea is a military, or militarized, Chinese-Russian offshore zone. And I cannot fully assume or yet understand—there is still too little data—what Xi Jinping may be discussing in North Korea. He may be discussing the involvement of North Korean troops in an operation concerning Taiwan. We can see that further escalation is underway around Taiwan, and China has begun a special maritime operation because Taiwan is attempting to demarcate what it claims is a border with Japan. Secondly, Xi may be going to ask the North Koreans for assistance for Moscow, or to discuss that aspect,” Ruslan Bortnik argues.

In any case, he notes, North Korea is becoming a major military stockpile in terms of ammunition and weapons, and, most importantly, in terms of trained and ideologically motivated infantry that could be useful to both China and Russia.

The expert also points out that Xi Jinping does not travel abroad frequently, yet he has chosen to visit North Korea.

“These visits are selected very carefully. Leaders all over the world would like to host Xi Jinping. I think Xi Jinping has thousands of invitations. Many leaders would be happy just to receive a phone call from him. And now Xi Jinping is not merely calling Kim Jong Un—he is traveling to meet him in person,” Ruslan Bortnik concludes.