Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at North Korea’s defense summit with China and Russia, the newly named head of Niger’s post-coup government, and a new critical technologies deal between India and Japan.
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at North Korea’s defense summit with China and Russia, the newly named head of Niger’s post-coup government, and a new critical technologies deal between India and Japan.
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The Hermit Kingdom may finally be cracking open its doors post-COVID-19. This week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un welcomed Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chinese Politburo member Li Hongzhong to Pyongyang to mark Friday’s 70th anniversary of the Korean War armistice. The summit’s message was loud and clear: Russia, China, and North Korea have one another’s backs.
“In the face of modern threats and challenges, it is especially important to preserve and increase the glorious traditions of friendship, good-neighborliness and mutual assistance,” Russian President Vladimir Putin wrote in a letter to Kim. That includes diplomatic and defense cooperation.
To emphasize that, the dayslong event included meetings among the three officials, weapons exhibitions, and a military parade. On Thursday, Pyongyang highlighted its military prowess by showcasing new drones and short-range missiles. And earlier in the week, Kim impressed Shoigu with North Korea’s accumulation of ballistic missiles banned by the United Nations Security Council, where both China and Russia wield veto power.
“In effect, China and Russia are sort of enablers for North Korea to go ahead with the nuclear and missile program,” said Wi Sung-lac, former South Korean ambassador to Russia. That contrasts sharply with a majority of the rest of the world’s view, which has continued to condemn recent North Korean missile tests in Japan’s and South Korea’s territorial waters.
This week’s meetings celebrated a series of firsts for North Korea. The summit was the first time a Russian defense minister has visited Pyongyang since the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991. Thursday’s military parade was the first such event North Korea invited foreign delegates to since February 2018. And meetings with Shoigu and Li were Kim’s first in-person talks since the kingdom closed its borders in January 2020 to protect against COVID-19.
Pyongyang is hoping this week’s dialogue will bolster “militant friendship and cooperation” among the three nuclear powers as a deterrent against growing Western strength. Next month, the United States, South Korea, and Japan will hold their first independent summit to discuss security cooperation against North Korea.
Who’s leading Niger? Meet Gen. Abdourahmane “Omar” Tchiani, the head of the West African nation’s presidential guard. Tchiani announced on Friday that he will lead the country’s transitional government after President Mohamed Bazoum was ousted in a coup two days earlier. Bazoum is still being detained in the presidential palace by what were once his guards yet maintains he is still the country’s leader; Bazoum was Niger’s first democratically elected leader since it gained its independence from France in 1960.
Tchiani has been part of the presidential guard since 2011. In 2015, he was linked to a coup attempt on then-President Mahamadou Issoufou but denied involvement before a court. Now, the 62-year-old military leader has helped overthrow Niger’s most recent president, citing economic insecurity and government corruption as his rationale.
Burgeoning allies. Critical technology is the phrase of the day for India-Japan collaboration. The two nations agreed to explore new efforts to cooperate on critical technologies, including semiconductors and supply chain resilience, on Friday. The agreement comes a day after Japan’s and India’s foreign ministers agreed to discuss new strategies to advance their defense equipment and military collaboration.
By strengthening their bilateral partnership, both countries hope to increase their influence in the Indo-Pacific as well as within the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, a four-nation bloc that includes the United States and Australia. The collaboration is also part of Japan’s efforts to reach $35.9 billion in critical technology investment by 2027.
Shuttle diplomacy. U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on Thursday to discuss improving U.S.-Saudi relations and explore the possibility of a normalization deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel, perhaps backed by U.S. security and other guarantees for Riyadh.
Although such a deal would likely be unpopular with many progressive Democrats in Congress, who continue to criticize Washington’s lack of action against Saudi human rights abuses, U.S. President Joe Biden reportedly hopes such a diplomatic breakthrough could spur greater peace in the Middle East.
Around how many protesters gathered in Tunisia’s capital on Tuesday on the second anniversary of President Kais Saied’s power grab?
A. 300B. 500C. 700D. 1,000
Russian President Vladimir Putin is willing to do whatever it takes to win Africa’s support—even if that means buying countries’ affection. At this week’s Russia-Africa summit, Putin offered Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa a helicopter, complete with glasses of white wine and a bowl of fruit, as he tried to secure Zimbabwe’s support in Russia’s war against Ukraine. With Zimbabwe being one of six African nations to also get free grain from Moscow, chances of winning Zimbabwe’s backing are growing.
A. 300
Among the protesters’ demands was the release of detained opposition figures. Since consolidating power in 2021, Saied has engaged in a steady assault on human rights, Eric Goldstein wrote in May.
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The post North Korea Strengthens Ties With Russia, China appeared first on Foreign Policy.
