China and North Korea's Militaries Don't Trust Each Other: US Intel

North Korea's deepening security ties with Russia are likely part of Kim Jong Un's effort to "counterbalance" China, according to the latest U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency report. Pyongyang's "blood-cemented alliance" with Beijing, by contrast, dates back decades but does not extend to meaningful military cooperation. This suggests the two sides "do not trust each other on military issues," says Decker Eveleth, an analyst at the Virginia-based think tank CNA Corporation.
Why It Matters

Vladimir Putin inked a landmark military assistance pact with Kim during the Russian leader's June 2024 visit to Pyongyang. The partnership shifted into top gear late last year with the deployment of North Korean troops to support Russian forces in the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

North Korea is also the only country with which China maintains a mutual defense treaty, and the People's Liberation Army was instrumental in pushing advancing U.S.-led troops back across the 38th Parallel.

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