China fears N. Korea war ‘at any moment’
As tensions flare, Beijing says there will be ‘no winners’
Beijing, April 14: A conflict over North Korea could break out “at any moment”, China said on Friday, warning there would be no winner in any war as tensions soar with the United States.
The sharp language came after US President Donald Trump said the North Korea problem “will be taken care of ”, as speculation mounts the reclusive state could be preparing another nuclear or missile test.
Mr Trump has sent an aircraft carrier-led strike group to the Korean peninsula to press his point, one of a series of measures that indicate his willingness to shake up foreign policy strategy.
“Lately, tensions have risen... and one has the feeling that a conflict could break out at any moment,” Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said. “If a war occurs, the result is a situation in which everybody loses and there can be no winner.”
Whichever side provoked a conflict “must assume the historic responsibility and pay the corresponding price,” he said in a joint press conference with his visiting French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault.
Mr Wang’s comments mirrored a warning from the North Korean foreign ministry’s Institute for Disarmament and Peace which said “thermonuclear war may break out any moment”.
“The US introduces into the Korean peninsula, the world’s biggest hotspot, huge nuclear strategic assets... pushing the situation there to the brink of a war,” it said according to the North’s official news agency KCNA.
There are reports of activity at a nuclear test site in North Korea ahead of Saturday’s 105th anniversary of the birth of the country’s founder Kim Il-Sung, which have fuelled speculation it could carry out a sixth test. — AFP