North Korea hosts China, Russia leaders for party anniversary

China’s No. 2 leader, Premier Li Qiang, and Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council and a close aide to President Vladimir Putin, will attend events in North Korea on Oct. 10 marking the 80th anniversary of the Workers’ Party’s founding. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is expected to stand alongside the second-ranking officials of China and Russia during a military parade in Pyongyang. The gathering comes about a month after the leaders of the three nations stood together atop Tiananmen Gate in Beijing to mark the 80th anniversary of China’s World War II victory.

In an Oct. 7 statement, China’s Foreign Ministry said Li will visit Pyongyang from Oct. 9 to 11 at the invitation of the Workers’ Party of Korea and the North Korean government for the anniversary celebration and an official goodwill visit. Li’s visit represents a higher level of Chinese participation than in 2015, when Liu Yunshan, then fifth in the country’s political hierarchy, attended the 70th anniversary ceremony. It will also be the first trip to North Korea by a Chinese premier since Wen Jiabao in 2009.

Representing Russia, Medvedev will attend the ceremony. He served as president from 2008 to 2012 during Putin’s tenure as prime minister, and later as prime minister until 2020 after Putin’s return to the presidency. Vietnam’s top leader, Communist Party General Secretary To Lam, is also expected to participate.

Kim is expected to stand on the reviewing platform at Kim Il Sung Square with Li and Medvedev to watch a large military parade showcasing weapons aimed at South Korea, the United States and Japan. On Oct. 4, Kim attended a weapons exhibition titled “Defense Development 2025,” warning that whether “the territory of South Korea can ever be a safe place” was for “them to decide.”

The high-level gathering of North Korean, Chinese and Russian leaders appears aimed at signaling an “anti-U.S. alliance” ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, which U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to attend.

Meanwhile, the United States has called on South Korea to join its efforts to counter China militarily. In written responses submitted before his Senate confirmation hearing on Oct. 7, John Noe, the nominee for U.S. assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, said South Korea’s military could help deter China and that long-range fires, integrated missile defense, and space and electronic warfare capabilities would strengthen deterrence against both North Korean and Chinese threats.


Na-Ri Shin journari@donga.com