Finland warns Xi of 'provocation' by N Korea in Ukraine war

By Laurie Chen and Anne Kauranen

Finnish President Alexander Stubb said he told China's President Xi Jinping that North Korean activities with Russia were an escalation and provocation in a message on behalf of NATO and the EU during talks in Beijing on Tuesday.

Stubb and Xi met as North Korea's foreign minister arrived in Russia, with Western military alliance NATO and South Korea warning that Pyongyang's troops could soon be entering the Ukraine war on Moscow's side.

The U.S. estimates 10,000 North Korean troops have been deployed in eastern Russia.

"My message to the president was that North Korean activity right now，both in terms of arms exports，especially in terms of sending troops to (...) Russia, is escalation，expansion and provocation. So we had a good discussion about this," Stubb told reporters.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has not denied the presence of North Korean troops, while Pyongyang has not commented.

Stubb, who met various European leaders in recent weeks, said he delivered to Xi messages coordinated with Finland's allies in NATO and the EU.

"There is dislike of the fact that NATO has partners such as South Korea or, say, Japan," Stubb said. "If North Korea is basically facilitating a war on the borders of Europe，we must be sure that it doesn't do that south of its border."

Stubb said he felt the Chinese-North Korean relationship "is not very comfortable at the moment", and that he had warned Xi supporting Russia would have negative implications for EU ties.

"The more China supports Russia, the more difficult the relationship with Europe, and especially the European Union, becomes," Stubb said.

There are also frictions with China over Brussels' hefty tariffs on Chinese EVs, set to be imposed next month for five years. Finland abstained in the vote.

Finland, which shares a 1,340-km (830-mile) border with Russia, joined NATO last year in a policy shift prompted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The war has strained ties between some Baltic states and China due to Beijing's perceived support of Moscow. China has a "no limits" alliance with Russia but has also sought to mediate an end to the Ukraine war.

Xi told Stubb on Tuesday that China welcomed Finland to jointly build "a new model of mutually beneficial cooperation", according to a Chinese state media readout.

Stubb said he and Xi also discussed their nations' delicate engagement over the possible role of a Hong Kong-registered cargo vessel in damage to the Balticconnector gas pipeline.

In an ongoing probe, Finnish police said the pipeline was likely ripped apart by an anchor dragged across it.