Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have reached alarming proportions. China on Wednesday placed its military on “nationwide alert” ordering approximately 25,000 troops to prepare to be sent to the North Korean border as tensions build. It is not clear whether that is to contain U.S. actions or that of North Korean dictator Kim Jung Un.
The Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy, a nongovernmental organization in Hong Kong, the Oriental Daily News has reported Beijing is organizing troops from all five military regions to be on high alert due to the escalating crisis in the region. This comes as U.S. Navy ships steam from their location near Australia.
The UPI reports that “Armored and mechanized infantry brigades in the provinces of Shandong, Zhejiang and Yunnan received the state mandate.” If these actions occur, it could put the world in dire threat of an escalation involving China and the U.S.
Meanwhile, 25,000 troops of the Chinese military’s 47th group army of the Ninth Armored Brigade have also been told to ” … prepare to travel long distances close to the North Korean border.” Reserve troops have also been mobilized.
During the Korean War (1950-53), the Chinese intervened on North Korea’s behalf against United Nations troops fighting the communists. The escalation ended in an armistice that to this day has never formally ended that way over 60-years-ago.
In a state run newspaper for the Chinese government, The Global Times intimated Beijing was prepared to carry out its own strike on North Korea’s nuclear facilities if the Stalinist state crossed a “bottom line.” Whether that is the case at the present time is unknown. President Trump and the Chinese president Xi Jinping held meetings last week in Florida. It was not revealed what was discussed concerning the North Koreans.
President Trump and President Xi Jinping discussed the crisis by phone Wednesday. According to reports, the two talked about a peaceful resolution to the crisis.
