Will China tell North Korea to pull out of Russia?

Throughout the Russian invasion, China has, for the most part, refused to be drawn into the conflict. It has not condemned Russia or asked Putin to pull back (except when the threat of nuclear warfare was on the table). But it has also acquiesced to western sanctions and refrained from giving Russia lethal aid. In the meantime, the invasion has allowed Beijing to pull Moscow closer to its own economic orbit and use Russia’s gas reserves to secure its own energy imports. All this has come as western military and economic resources are bogged down in Europe, depleting the same resources which might eventually be turned to containing China in the Indo-Pacific. Win, win, win.

But the latest development in the war will make it harder than ever before for China to keep its distance from the conflict. According to American intelligence, North Korea has sent some 10,000 soldiers to Russia for training, most of whom are now deployed to the Kursk region and may see active combat in the coming days.