TAIPEI, Taiwan – China avoided directly commenting on North Korea’s confirmation of its troop deployment to Russia and reiterated support for a “multilateral solution” to the conflict.
North Korea on Monday acknowledged for the first time that it sent troops to Russia to support Moscow’s war against Ukraine, six months after reports of their presence first emerged.
China, one of North Korea’s few allies, has been under pressure to serve as a restraining influence on Pyongyang as the U.S. and its allies worry that the deployment of North Korean troops could dangerously escalate the Ukraine war.
“Regarding bilateral interactions between Russia and the DPRK, we’ve stated our position on multiple occasions. China’s position on the Ukraine crisis is consistent and clear,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun during a regular press briefing on Monday.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or DPRK, is North Korea’s official name.
“We have been actively working for a ceasefire and promoting peace talks,” Guo said, without elaborating.
China previously called for a “multilateral solution” to the Ukraine crisis, saying: “all parties need to promote the de-escalation of the situation and strive for a political settlement.”
Ukraine estimates as many as 14,000 North Korean soldiers, including 3,000 reinforcements to replace its losses, are in Russia to fight Ukrainian forces who occupied parts of Russia’s Kursk region last summer in a counteroffensive.
Reports of the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia first surfaced in October. Even as evidence of their presence grew – including when North Korean soldiers were taken captive by Ukrainian forces in Kursk and interviewed – neither North Korea nor Russia acknowledged their presence.
The U.S. previously voiced concern to China over “destabilizing” actions by North Korea and Russia and said Beijing should be concerned about steps that Russia had taken to undermine stability and security.
Last year, speculation emerged that ties between North Korea and China had cooled as Pyongyang moved closer to Moscow in recent years, but China’s foreign ministry in October dismissed such suggestions.
The Chinese foreign ministry’s remarks Tuesday came amid media reports that North Korea “urgently repatriated” all of its IT workers based in the Chinese city of Shenyang, after one of them was detained by Chinese public security authorities for allegedly stealing Chinese military technology.
Authorities discovered extensive data related to Chinese weapons and military technologies on the detained North Korean IT worker’s laptop, which had allegedly been obtained through hacking, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources familiar with North Korean affairs.
While the specific nature of the Chinese military information found on the worker’s laptop has not been disclosed, it is speculated that it may involve unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV, technologies – a field North Korea has recently prioritized for development.
North Korean-linked hacking groups have repeatedly been found targeting military institutions and defence companies worldwide, including in South Korea. While Russia has often been among their targets, it is rare for North Korea to be caught stealing information from its close ally China, sources told Yonhap.
Edited by Mike Firn and Stephen Wright.
