China ‘must prepare for war over North Korea’s rocket launch and nuclear tests’

A Chinese military adviser has warned China to be prepared for war in the Korean Peninsula, but not to sacrifice as much as it did in the 1950s.

Speaking on the deterioration of the security situation after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s recent nuclear and satellite tests, Major General Wang Haiyun said in an article on Tuesday that China must “take strong counter measures” as it faced various threats.

READ MORE: Don’t pass the buck on North Korea’s nuclear programme, China tells United States

“[China] must adjust the force deployment along northeastern borders ... and prepare militarily and diplomatically for all potential risks as soon as possible,” Wang said in the Global Times, a newspaper under the party mouthpiece People’s Daily.

Wang, a former military attaché to Russia, is a senior consultant at the China Society for International Strategy, a think tank headed by Sun Jianguo, deputy chief of Joint Staff of the Central Military Commission.

The threats Wang named – besides North Korea’s tests – included the United States’ decision to send an aircraft carrier, strategic bombers and nuclear submarines to South Korean and Japanese bases, and the deployment of an anti-ballistic missile system in South Korea.

Wang’s comments came as foreign vice-minister Zhang Yesui pledged support for a strong resolution at the UN Security Council to punish Pyongyang after its rocket launch and nuclear test. “We support a new and strong resolution,” Zhang said on Tuesday.