China may be feeling uneasy about talk of a rare five-year defence cooperation plan between North Korea and Russia that could accelerate Pyongyang’s military modernisation on multiple fronts, analysts said.

According to the Russian state news agency Tass, Russian Defence Minister Andrey Belousov held talks to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang on April 26, with Belousov describing relations between the countries as at an “unprecedentedly high level”.

Belousov also said preparations were under way for a five-year military cooperation plan, according to Tass.

“We have reached an agreement with the DPRK’s [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s] defence ministry to place our military cooperation on a sustainable long-term footing,” Belousov reportedly said, referring to North Korea.

“We are prepared to sign a Russian-Korean military cooperation plan for the 2027-2031 period this year.”

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un greets Russian State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin at the inaugural ceremony of a memorial museum dedicated to North Korean soldiers killed in the Ukraine conflict. Photo: KCNA via Reuters

The North Korean state-run Korean Central News Agency did not report on the discussion about the five-year plan, instead saying Kim and Belousov had discussed a “series of issues” to further consolidate and “level up strengthening and developing political and military cooperation and collaboration” between Pyongyang and Moscow.