China Urges Calm While Building Up Military on North Korean Border
No comment. That’s what China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hong Lei said earlier today (April 12) in response to a report by a US spy agency saying North Korea has a nuclear weapon it could mount on a missile. Several US and South Korean officials were also quick to deny the report. This is after promises by North Korea to turn its enemies’ strongholds into a sea of flames.
Even with an aggressive, potentially nuclear rogue regime sharing a border with China, Hong Lei maintained dialogue was the way to resolve tensions on the Korean peninsula.
[Hong Lei, China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson] "Our position on the North Korean nuclear issue is clear. China upholds the maintenance of peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and is pushing for its denuclearization via talks and consultations. No matter what changes there are in the situation, we will uphold this direction."
But the Chinese Communist Party’s sway over North Korea may be waning. China is considered the only significant ally of Pyongyang and the only country that could have any influence over the decisions of Kim Jong-un’s regime. But despite Hong’s calls for talk, the Chinese regime is clearly backing it up with military muscle.
US officials reported earlier this month that China has been mobilizing troops and jets along the China-North Korea border, claims China's Ministry of National Defense denied today. But that denial coincides with a report from Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post that the People’s Liberation Army has been conducting live fire drills with tanks and armored vehicles along the border.
On the North Korea side, paratroopers were seen conducting drills. A helicopter circled a North Korean border town and dropped off at least five people.
Chinese and Japanese journalists also spotted similar drills last night.
http://ntdtv.org/en/news/china/2013...lding-up-military-on-north-korean-border.html
No comment. That’s what China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hong Lei said earlier today (April 12) in response to a report by a US spy agency saying North Korea has a nuclear weapon it could mount on a missile. Several US and South Korean officials were also quick to deny the report. This is after promises by North Korea to turn its enemies’ strongholds into a sea of flames.
Even with an aggressive, potentially nuclear rogue regime sharing a border with China, Hong Lei maintained dialogue was the way to resolve tensions on the Korean peninsula.
[Hong Lei, China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson] "Our position on the North Korean nuclear issue is clear. China upholds the maintenance of peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and is pushing for its denuclearization via talks and consultations. No matter what changes there are in the situation, we will uphold this direction."
But the Chinese Communist Party’s sway over North Korea may be waning. China is considered the only significant ally of Pyongyang and the only country that could have any influence over the decisions of Kim Jong-un’s regime. But despite Hong’s calls for talk, the Chinese regime is clearly backing it up with military muscle.
US officials reported earlier this month that China has been mobilizing troops and jets along the China-North Korea border, claims China's Ministry of National Defense denied today. But that denial coincides with a report from Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post that the People’s Liberation Army has been conducting live fire drills with tanks and armored vehicles along the border.
On the North Korea side, paratroopers were seen conducting drills. A helicopter circled a North Korean border town and dropped off at least five people.
Chinese and Japanese journalists also spotted similar drills last night.
http://ntdtv.org/en/news/china/2013...lding-up-military-on-north-korean-border.html
