North Korea’s show of belligerence and the open threat of a nuclear war to deal with the “imperialist US” at mass rallies held in Pyongyang on Sunday is another move on the chessboard of international relations made by its patron state, the Peoples’ Republic of China. Earlier this month, China ~ joined now by its ally Russia ~ had spurned a call to condemn Pyongyang’s provocative conduct and had instead blamed the United States for raising tensions on the Korean peninsula. At Sunday’s rally in the North Korean capital, participants held up banners saying “The whole US mainland is within our shooting range”, a clear provocation that was backed up by a statement that alleged the US was “making desperate efforts to ignite a nuclear war,” and that North Korea now had the “strongest absolute weapon to punish the US imperialists”.

It is surprising that China, which had displayed considerable alacrity in attempting to play down the threat of a nuclear war initiated by Russia in Ukraine, sees nothing wrong in the language deployed by Pyongyang and indeed even exhibits subtle signs of endorsing it. North Korea was frustrated in its plans to launch a military surveillance satellite that would give it eyes on its enemies when the launch failed last month, but has announced it will launch another. Since 2022, Pyongyang has launched over 100 missiles of varying sizes to demonstrate its capability to strike targets in both the United States as well as South Korea, a country with which it is still technically at war.

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While Seoul and its allies, including the United States, have also conducted exercises in the region, these have largely been defensive and aimed at telling Pyongyang that its continued belligerence will draw a response. While the US is committed to providing security to the South and has been quite vocal in its support, Beijing does not come out into the open or participate in the North’s military games. But by sharing technology, including military, and offering support at international forums, Beijing makes it clear that North Korea is for all intents and purposes a client state. While the rallies were held to mark the 73rd anniversary of the start of the Korean War, reports suggest that the North Korean regime is planning a huge military parade on 27 July, the anniversary of the armistice to show off its military hardware and weapons capability. Last February, the North’s leader Kim Jong un had unveiled a new solid fuel intercontinental ballistic missile.

This weapon was said to have been flight tested in April and is said to have the potential to reach America. China and North Korea signed a mutual aid and cooperation treaty in 1961, the only defence treaty either nation has with any country. North Korea is one of the world’s most isolated nations, and among Asia’s poorest.