US, China should agree buffer line in case North Korea collapses, report says
Rand Corp report urges China, US planning to avoid war if Kim Jong-un regime fails suddenly
The United States should consider negotiating a separation line with China in a collapsed North Korea, a study said on Thursday, warning of catastrophic consequences if Kim Jong-Un’s regime suddenly falls.
The report by Rand Corp, a prominent US research institute, said that the crumbling of the totalitarian state could trigger a new, severe famine as well as a human rights crisis in a country that holds hundreds of thousands of prisoners.
The United States and its ally South Korea would almost certainly intervene, causing alarm in China, which is North Korea’s primary ally, the study said.
China, whose perceived interests include stemming the flow of refugees and preventing US forces from approaching its border, could also send troops into North Korea and risk a confrontation with US or South Korean forces that could quickly escalate, the report said.
“The best way to minimize such accidents is to define a separation line for Chinese forces versus [South Korean] and US forces,” the study said.
The line could be as far north as 50km into North Korea from the Chinese border or as far south as the capital Pyongyang, it said.