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Russian ‘Power Politics’, North Korea and the Future of Northeast Asia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 May 2025

Leonid Petrov
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The sharp rise of oil and gas prices has enabled Moscow to utilise its mammoth energy reserves to achieve domestic and foreign policy goals. The new Russian ‘power politics’ have already been tested on the Baltic States, Belarus, Ukraine, and recently the Czech Republic. Russia's Far Eastern frontier is now turning into the place where energy export becomes a political tool in shaping the country's relations with regional neighbours. China, the two Koreas, and Japan are hungry for energy, natural resources and, at the same time, seek economic and political cooperation. In these circumstances, the opportunities offered by trans-national railroads and pipelines appear to be more powerful than weapons. Given this new leverage and understanding, can Russia exert its soft and hard power upon North Korea to promote the goals set in the Six-Party Talks?

Type
Research Article
Information
Asia-Pacific Journal , Volume 6 , Issue 7 , July 2008 , e24
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2008

References

Notes

[1] The North Korean side insists on the principle of ‘action for action’ as a basic requirement. ‘DPRK Foreign Ministry Spokesman on Implementation of Agreement Adopted by Six-Party Talks’, KCNA, 4 July 2008.

[2] Nicole Finnemann, ‘Explosive Progress in the Six Party Talks: What's Left To Do When It Is All Done?‘, Korea Economic Institute (1 July 2008).

[3] Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars report ‘World Oil and Grain Prices Up, DPRK Feels the Pinch’.

[4] Maaike Okano-Heijmans, ‘Games Nations Play: Politics, Diplomacy and the North Korean Nuclear Crisis’, unpublished research paper, Australian National University (May 2008).

[5] Paul F. Hueper, ‘The Energy Locomotive’, in Jan H, Kalicki and Eugene K.Lawson eds., Russian-Eurasian Renaissance? U.S. Trade and Investment in Russia and Eurasia, Woodrow Wilson Centre Press: Washington D.C., 2003, p.177.

[6] ‘Russians Mask Economy's Weakness with Shopping, Building Frenzy’, Bloomberg (30 November 2006).

[7] CIA - The World Fact Book - Russia.

[8] Nodari Simonia, ‘Russian East Siberia and the Far East: A Basis for Co-operation with Northeast Asia’, Global Asia (September 2006); F. William Engdahl, ‘The Emerging Russian Giant: the U.S. Eurasia and Global Geopolitics’, Japan Focus (26 October 2006).

[9] Artyom Lukin, ‘Multilateral Cooperation in Northeast Asia and Prospects for Regional Community’, conference “New Approaches to Peace and Stability in Northeast Asia”, Moscow, 26-28 May 2005.

[10] ‘The Case Against Summits’, The Economist (24 November 2005).

[11] 'ТSNT€Ð°Ð½SNT▯нÐμSNT„SNT,SNT&TElig;: Ð▯а Ð'СТО пSNT€Ð¾SNT†Ð2ÐμSNT,а ÐμSNT, аоSNT€SNT€SNTƒÐ¿SNT†Ð¸SNT▯', РоSNT▯ба лSNT, (14 July 2008).

[12] “Towar d Regional Energy Cooperation in Northeast Asia: Key Issues in the Development of Oil and Gas in Russia”, Korea Energy Economics Institute 2006 International Symposium.

[13] On 9 July 2008 Kazakhstan joined the construction of a pan-Central Asia pipeline, a major project to link the Caspian Sea gas reserves with China. ‘Kazakhstan Building Gas Pipeline to China’, China.Org.Cn (10 July 2008).

[14] Three prospective projects involving North Korea have been discussed so far: one that would bring natural gas from Irkutsk province, another from the northern Republic of Sakha, and a third from the island of Sakhalin.

[15] Peggy Falkenheim Meyer, “Russo-North Korean Relations Under Kim Jong-il”, in M.E. Sharpe, Kim Hong-nak and Kihl Young-hwan (eds), North Korea: The Politics of Regime Survival, 2006, p.209.

[16] ГмиSNT,SNT€Ð¸Ð1 Ð'ÐμSNT€SNT…оSNT,SNTƒSNT€Ð¾Ð2, ‘Ð-нÐμSNT€Ð3ÐμSNT,иSNT&Tagger;ÐμSNT▯ааSNT▯ полиSNT,иаа РоSNT▯SNT▯ии на КоSNT€ÐμÐ1SNT▯аом полSNTƒÐ¾SNT▯SNT,SNT€Ð¾Ð2Ðμ', Ð▯ПÐ▯-КазаSNT…SNT▯SNT,ан (April-May 2006).

[17] “Russia and Inter-Korean Relations”, The Gorbachev Foundation (17 April 2003).

[18] ‘N.Korea's Businesses Thriving in Russia’ Dong-A Ilbo (04 April 2008).

[19] Yonhap News, “Russia to Send More Fuel Oil to N.K. by October: Report”, Seoul (08 July 2008)

[20] Xinhua “Russian Food Aid Arrives in DPRK” (08 July 2008)

[21] ‘Russian Merchants Greatly Increasing in Pyongyang’, Daily NK (5 April 2007)

[22] ‘Pyongyang offers slaves in exchange for Russian oil’.

[23] “Building Ties with North Korea”, The New York Times, 11 December 2003.

[24] Georgy Bulychev, ‘Korean security dilemmas: A Russian Perspective’ in Hazel Smith ed., Reconstituting Korean Security: a Policy Primer, United Nations University Press, 2007, p.195.