China
North Korea China Warns its Citizens in North Korea to Leave as
Conflict with US Looms
Fearing a
possible US attack on North Korea, Beijing is urging its citizens
there to return, as Pyongyang continues its nuclear weapons and
ballistic missile tests.
2
April, 2017
The
US-funded Radio Free Asia reported on Tuesday that the Chinese
Embassy in North Korea sent out the warning less than a
week before the 85th anniversary of the Korean People’s
Army on April 25, an occasion some expected the North to use
as an opportunity to conduct its sixth nuclear test.
Pyongyang
instead conducted a large live-fire drill. Four days after the
anniversary, the North carried out a missile test, but the
projectile exploded several minutes after launching, a "failure"
South Korean officials later surmised was intentional.
Amid
holiday celebrations, the nuclear-powered USS Michigan submarine,
armed with 150 Tomahawk missiles, joined a US Navy carrier
strike group led by the USS Carl Vinson near the Korean
Peninsula, in a show of force from Washington.
A
Korean-Chinese citizen who left Pyongyang after receiving the
warning in late April told Radio Free Asia, "The embassy
has never given such a warning. I was worried and left the country
in a hurry," according
to the Korea Times.
He
added that, despite mounting tensions with South Korea and
the US, Pyongyang’s “peaceful” environment prevented a sense
of urgency or panic amongst the Korean-Chinese population.
With
the recent deployment in South Korea of the controversial
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system (THAAD), Washington’s
threats of military action against the North and the US’s
ongoing joint military exercises with South Korea, Pyongyang has
accused the US of pushing the peninsula "to the brink
of nuclear war" with its "aggression and
hysteria."
Through
the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the North has stated
that it will "continue to bolster its military capabilities
for self-defense and pre-emptive nuclear attack," with a
spokesman saying in a statement Tuesday, "Now that the US
is kicking up the overall racket for sanctions and pressure
against DPRK, pursuant to its new DPRK policy called
'maximum pressure and engagement,' the DPRK will speed up at the
maximum pace the measure for bolstering its nuclear
deterrence," the
Guardian reported.
On
Monday, KCNA also noted that the North was prepared to conduct
its next nuclear test whenever leadership deemed it appropriate.
China
Tells its Citizens to Evacuate North Korea
China
has told its citizens living in North Korea to evacuate, amidst
rising tensions between North Korea and the US. At the same time
China and Russia are demanding the THAAD system be removed from Soul
and Russian General warns that US may be planning preemptive Nuclear
strike on
Russia
links:
https://www.gazeta.ru/army/2017/04/26...
http://www.newsweek.com/russia-us-glo...
https://www.rt.com/news/386828-china-...
https://already-happened.com/2017/05/...
https://sputniknews.com/asia/20170502...
https://sputniknews.com/asia/20170502...
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20...
https://www.google.cz/search?biw=1280...
links:
https://www.gazeta.ru/army/2017/04/26...
http://www.newsweek.com/russia-us-glo...
https://www.rt.com/news/386828-china-...
https://already-happened.com/2017/05/...
https://sputniknews.com/asia/20170502...
https://sputniknews.com/asia/20170502...
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20...
https://www.google.cz/search?biw=1280...
Beijing
has called for an immediate stop to the deployment of the US Terminal
High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system to South Korea
and is ready to protect its interests, according to the Chinese
Foreign Ministry.
Foreign
Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang voiced the government’s position
against the move during a briefing on Tuesday.
"We
oppose the deployment of the US missile system to South Korea and
call on all parties to immediately stop this process. We are ready to
take necessary measures to protect our interests," he said,
adding that “China’s position on the THAAD issue has not
changed.”
The
spokesperson didn’t specify what protective measures China had in
mind. However, responding to the THAAD installation, China announced
on Thursday that it will stage live-fire exercises and test new
weapons to protect its security.
Beijing
has previously voiced concerns over the THAAD system and joint
US-South Korean drills near the Korean Peninsula, consistently urging
all the parties involved to find a peaceful solution to the volatile
situation in the region.
Backed
by Russia, it also proposed a halt to military drills in exchange for
an end to Pyongyang’s missile and nuclear tests during a United
Nations Security Council (UNSC) session held in New York on Friday.
Moscow
considers the stationing of the THAAD system to be an “additional
destabilizing factor for the region” amid alarmingly increasing
tensions. It has called on Washington and Seoul to reconsider the
decision.
Recently
installed in South Korea, the THAAD system is aimed at detecting and
shooting down missiles. It became operational on Monday and is able
“to intercept North Korean missiles and defend the Republic of
Korea [South Korea]," according to US Forces Korea spokesman
Col. Rob Manning.
The
deployment of the US defense system triggered protests in South
Korea, with citizens saying that it would only provoke an attack from
their northern neighbor.
Seoul
was also reportedly asked to pay for the US missile shield, as
President Donald Trump called on South Korea to cough up for the
“phenomenal billion-dollar system.” He received a firm rebuke in
response, however.
The
THAAD deployment comes as a part of other US steps to deter North
Korea from testing nuclear and non-nuclear missiles. Pyongyang held
two failed missiles tests in April, also threating to sink US
warships and submarines in South Korean waters in the event of any
provocation.
Beijing:
China and Russia have vowed "to take further action"
against the United States' ambition to build a global anti-missile
shield that they argue will give US forces a unilateral military
advantage.
Chinese
and Russian officials met in Moscow on Wednesday within hours of the
installation by the US of large parts of the controversial THAAD
anti-missile radar at Seonju, 300 kilometres from Seoul.
Pyongyang
is accusing the US of edging the Korean Peninsula closer to war,
after US B-1B strategic bombers flew over the Koreas as part of a
drill with regional air defense forces.
North Korea: US bombers pushing crisis close to nuclear war
NORTH
Korea’s failed missile was reportedly headed towards Russia, but
was detonated, prompting Vladimir Putin to put his country on high
alert.
Pyongyang
test-fired the ballistic weapon on Saturday despite calls from the US
and others to curb its nuclear trials.
Seoul
Economy Daily reports that the KN-17 weapon travelled 48 kilometres
before officials exploded it after fears it was fired at Russia by
accident.
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