New | China won't save North Korea if country goes to war, says former PLA general
China will not step in to save neighbouring North Korea if the Pyongyang regime collapses or starts a war, a retired People’s Liberation Army general has said, possibly signalling Beijing’s waning patience with its wayward, nuclear-armed ally.
“China is not a saviour,” Wang Hongguang, former deputy commander of the Nanjing military region, wrote in the Global Times newspaper, which is close to the Communist Party.
China cannot influence the situation on the Korean peninsula … It is not necessary for China’s younger generation to fight a war for another country
“Should North Korea really collapse, not even China can save it,” he said in a contribution to the nationalist tabloid’s Chinese-language website, which was published on Monday.
The outspoken Wang has made critical comments about North Korea before and it was not clear if his words indicated a policy shift regarding Pyongyang.
China has long been the isolated North’s key ally and aid provider. Beijing came to Pyongyang’s aid in the 1950-53 Korean War, when its intervention against United States-led UN forces defending South Korea helped seal a stalemate that has lasted to this day.
China’s role has grown as the North’s economy has shrunk in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union – with which Pyongyang had close trade and aid ties – more than 20 years ago.
In the two decades since, Beijing has moved to develop diplomatic relations and booming trade ties with Seoul, Pyongyang’s bitter rival. President Xi Jinping and South Korean President Park Geun-hye have exchanged visits, while Xi and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have so far kept their distance.