China Warns Trump, No Regime Change in North Korea


Through its state-owned media, China warned President Trump that China could intervene militarily on North Korea’s behalf should South Korea and the U.S. decide to launch a pre-emptive strike to overthrow the Kim regime.

If the U.S. and South Korea carry out strikes and try to overthrow the North Korean regime and change the political pattern of the Korean Peninsula, China will prevent them from doing so,” it said.”

The Global Times newspaper still called for a diplomatic solution to the standoff, but the likelihood of talks between both sides at this time seems remote.

As the U.S. was being warned, so too were the North Koreans. The Global Times advocated that China choose to remain neutral in the event North Korea undertakes a first strike against South Korea, Japan or the United States.

Yesterday, in an exchange with reporters in New Jersey, President Trump mused that perhaps his warning to Kim about “fire and Fury” might not have been strong enough.

The Chinese government remains irritated with both sides, beginning with North Korea’s ongoing tests of long-range missiles and nuclear warheads. It also condemns the joint military drills between South Korea and the U.S.

In anticipation of the next North Korean ICBM launch, the U.S. is stepping up its military exercises with both South Korea and Japan. Yesterday, 3,500 U.S. and Japanese troops began an 18-day live-fire exercise on the northern island of Hokkaido, which will include rocket artillery drills.

South Korean and U.S. troops will begin joint exercises on August 21, in which up to 30,000 American soldiers will participate. In the meantime, U.S. officials are discussing coordinated contingency plans with their allied counterparts.

It comes as no surprise more observers are beginning to compare the current crisis to the Cuban missile crisis of 1962.

This situation is beginning to develop into this generation’s Cuban Missile crisis moment,” ING’s chief Asia economist Robert Carnell said in a research note. “While the U.S. president insists on ramping up the war of words, there is a decreasing chance of any diplomatic solution.”

As the fiery rhetoric continues, financial markets are beginning to show signs of distress, but don’t appear to be headed toward a severe overreaction.

Source: ZeroHedge

 



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