China needs ‘Plan B’ for N. Korea conflict
- Source: The Global Times
- [07:44 May 31 2009]
- Comments
A woman holds the hand of a child as they walk past missiles displayed at the war museum in Seoul yesterday. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said yesterday that North Korea’s nuclear-weapons test could spark an arms race among its Asian neighbors that would have consequences for regional stability. Photo: AFP
By Wu Gang in Hunchun and Kang Juan in Beijing
China should be more flexible with its policies toward North Korea and take precautions against any crises triggered by the troublesome neighbor’s continuous nuclear and missile tests, Chinese foreign affairs experts warned yesterday.
“What if a huge refugee influx occurs after a domestic crisis breaks out in North Korea? How should China respond if small regional or civilian conflicts occur on land or at sea?” Sun Zhe, director of the Center for US-China Relations at Tsinghua University, asked when consulted by the Global Times.
Dismissing the necessity for China to play a leading role in imposing sanctions on North Korea, Sun suggested the nation prepare a “Plan B” in case the regional situation further escalates on speculation Pyongyang is preparing to launch another long-range missile.
Pentagon officials said Friday US satellite photos had shown vehicle activity at two launch sites in the North, one in the west and one in the east.
“A train carrying a long-range missile has been spotted at the weapons research center near Pyongyang,” Yonhap news agency quoted an intelligence source as saying. The source said it is expected to take about two weeks before the North places the missile on a launch pad and prepares it for firing.
North Korea said Wednesday that it would no longer abide by the Korean War armistice and may retaliate militarily in response to the South's participation in a US-led drill, further raising tension following its nuclear test.
According to a poll carried out by huanqiu.com, 45 percent of respondents believe the current nuclear crisis may result in a regional war or conflict, more than 40 percent think it will end peacefully, but about 15 percent believe a comprehensive war is possible.
Trucks carrying large containers of goods continued crossing back and forth over the border yesterday at Quanhe Road Port, one of the busiest thoroughfares between China and North Korea.
The border was not closed after the nuclear test. Chinese high-level officials were seen entering North Korea to assist in detecting possible radioactive pollution to the country’s underground water system after Monday’s nuclear test.
The nuclear device was reportedly set off 10 kilometers below ground, less than 150 kilometers from the Chinese border.
Seoul officials quoted by Yonhap said that hundreds of South Korean workers traveled to North Korea on Friday and commercial vessels from the North continued to sail south of the border.
LÜ Chao, a researcher at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times, “The US, Japan and the two Koreas have all demonstrated their deterrent force, but the peninsula has not reached the brink of war.”
LÜ said the North is still taking a “word for word, action for action” policy, and its aim is not for war but to attain nuclear-state status, reinforcing its regime and boosting domestic morale.