China-Russia backing lets Pyongyang tune out Seoul’s old song — SkimNews
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- North Korea exploded a landmine in the DMZ and repatriated North Korean POWs from Ukraine, triggering heightened attention in South Korean media after a period of diminished coverage.
- South Korean progressives and the Lee Jae-myung administration continue to express nostalgia for the Sunshine Policy, hoping to revive inter-Korean engagement despite a drastically changed geopolitical landscape.
- China and Russia are actively supporting North Korea, enabling Pyongyang to isolate itself completely, with only 5,100 Russian tourists admitted last year and no return for foreign NGOs since the pandemic.
- North Korea has earned over $20 billion in the past three years from arms exports to Russia, reducing its economic dependence on South Korea and eliminating incentives for diplomatic compromise.
- Andrei Lankov argues that the current U.S.-China rivalry and global bloc formation mirror Cold War conditions that North Korea historically exploits to maximize leverage and autonomy.
Why it matters: Pyongyang now has $20+ billion in recent arms revenue and unwavering backing from China and Russia, making it immune to South Korea’s passive diplomacy. The old strategy of restraint no longer pressures the regime — it simply enables further isolation and aggression.
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