China and US step up military talks to prepare for the worst on North Korea

Generals from two sides wrap up meetings in Washington that were planned in August but held hours after Pyongyang’s latest missile test

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A man walks past a television screen showing North Korea’s latest missile launch, at a railway station in Seoul on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:30pm, 30 Nov 2017Updated: 11:02am, 1 Dec 2017

Military officials from China and the United States are stepping up communications on the Korean peninsula situation, defence analysts said, as generals from the two sides wrapped up talks.

Meetings in Washington on Wednesday and Thursday – chaired by Major General Shao Yuanming, deputy chief of the Joint Staff Department, and Lieutenant General Richard Clarke, US Joint Chiefs planning director – were held just hours after Pyongyang’s most powerful missile test to date.

Chinese defence ministry spokesman Senior Colonel Wu Qian said on Thursday that the talks were held to discuss crisis management and enhance mutual trust, without giving details.

Senior Colonel Wu Qian said the talks in Washington were held to discuss crisis management and enhance mutual trust. Photo: Chinese defence ministry

The talks were agreed by the two nations in August, but took place after North Korea launched the Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile that could strike “the whole mainland of the United States”.

What photos reveal about North Korea’s new Hwasong-15 ballistic missile

Beijing-based military analyst Zhou Chenming said the talks were a chance for the US and Chinese generals to exchange views on the Korean peninsula.

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