deploy THAAD. North Korea also launched a Rodong missile into Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), while pinning the blame for the heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula on the U.S. North Korea-China relations that took a turn for the worse following the third nuclear test showed signs of thawing in 2015 when a standing member of the Chinese Communist Party’s Political Bureau traveled to Pyongyang to attend the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party of Korea. However, the relationship between the two countries cooled off again after the fourth and fifth nuclear tests and a long-range missile launch by North Korea. North Korea is currently trying to improve its relationship with China by taking advantage of China’s objection to the deployment of THAAD and holding bilateral talks with China during the ASEAN Regional Forum. North Korea is also avoiding UN sanctions by maintaining its trade with China. By declaring the “Year of Friendship between North Korea and Russia” in May 2015, North Korea has expanded its exchanges and cooperation with Russia, and the two nations agreed to strengthen their economic cooperation during the celebration of the 67th anniversary of the Agreement between North Korea and Russia on Economic and Cultural Exchanges in March 2016. Although Russia has indicated the intention to join the sanctions against North Korea and implement the UN resolutions, it is allowing the Najin-Hasan project35) as an exception considering the impact of the draconian sanctions against North Korea on its own economy. Also, North Korea is looking to expand exchanges with Russia in many areas including politics, economy, culture, and academics. No real improvement has occurred in North Korea-Japan relations despite the hint of a thaw in the wake of the Stockholm Agreement36) in May 2014. In 2016, after the fourth nuclear test by North Korea, Japan stepped up its unilateral sanctions against North Korea. North Korea retaliated by halting the re-investigation into Japanese abductees while strongly criticizing Japan’s past history and conservative swing. Meanwhile, Pyongyang is vehemently protesting the UN resolution on the human rights situation in North Korea. In March 2016, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong stated that the country “will no longer attend meetings that attacks North Korea’s human rights issues and will not accept resolutions of any kind.” North Korea continues to claim that its possession of nuclear weapons is due to Washington’s hostile policy and nuclear threats. While protesting that UN Security Council Resolution 2270 of March 2016 is unfair, North 35) this project began in 2000 when russian President Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il agreed to jointly develop the Najinhasan railway and connect it with the trans-Siberian railway (tSr) and the trans-Korean railway (tKt)— the 54km railway between hasan near russia’s far-eastern border— and includes modernization of the port of Najin and logistics projects in North Korea. 36) During the director-level talks between the two countries’ foreign ministries held in Stockholm, Sweden on May 26, 2014, North Korea agreed to launch a new inquiry into Japanese abductees and other Japanese nationals residing in its territory in exchange for partial easing of sanctions imposed by Japan. 26 Chapter 1 Changes and Challenges in the Security environment