Koreas head for clash

CHINA CALLS ON NORTH AND SOUTH TO MAKE A DEAL US missile defence system rolls out in S Korea this week.

China called on North Korea yesterday to suspend its nuclear and missile activities in exchange for the US and South Korea halting military war games, to prevent what it called a “head-on collision”.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s proposal came after a cascade of events that has led to a dramatic spike in tensions in the region, including a volley of North Korean missile tests that flew provocatively close to Japan.

China is particularly concerned over the deployment this week of America’s THAAD defence system which is being rolled out in South Korea as a shield against the growing missile threat. Wang warned of a “looming crisis” stoked by North Korean nuclear and missile tests and annual US-South Korean military exercises.

“The two sides are like two accelerating trains coming toward each other with neither side willing to give way,” Wang said on the sidelines of China’s annual parliament session.

“Our priority now is to flash the red light and apply the brakes on both trains.”

He proposed that North Korea “suspend its nuclear and missile activities in exchange for the halt of the large-scale exercises”.

Pyongyang blasted at least four missiles across the sea toward Japan on Monday, and three of them splashed down into waters within Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone. Seoul and Washington have begun annual joint exercises and the US has started deploying an anti-missile system directed at North Korea. – AFP