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Russian approaches to sanctions at the United Nations
and on enforcement of around a dozen prior UN Security
Council resolutions condemning North Korea’s missile and
nuclear development. But while both North Korea and
China view this development adversely, with China regularly
referring to such cooperation as presaging a new Cold War
and the possible development of an “Asian NATO,” the
institutionalization of U.S.-Japan-South Korean cooperation
does not appear to have directly induced the establishment
and strengthening of a comparable trilateral alignment among
China, North Korea, and Russia.

The Rise of Sino-U.S. Strategic Rivalry

A second geostrategic factor with deep implications for North
Korean strategic choices as well as U.S. policy and strategy has
been the emergence of Sino-U.S. strategic rivalry as a primary
driver and framework informing U.S. national strategy.
Various documents outlining U.S. national security policies
and defense strategies since 2017 show a developing U.S.
focus on China’s emergence as a potential peer competitor
and “pacing challenge.” This has generated a perceived need as
well as a temptation to subordinate many other policy issues
to the China challenge or to address those issues with primary
reference to Sino-U.S. rivalry as the foundational framework
shaping policy responses on related issues, most notably
North Korea and Taiwan.

The emergence of major power rivalry between the United
States and China has also generated strategic space for North

Chapter Thirteen : South Korea-Japan-US Cooperation: How to Deter North Korea and Convince China 215