Friday, April 12, 2013

North Korea - The Chinese Joker


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Today it's about China's key role in the North Korean conflict. The following BBC report is underlining the necessity for the U.S. to come to terms with China on that issue while a semi-official statement from China is showing how difficult further development of the conflict might become for North Korea's long-standing ally China.

U.S. Foreign Secretary Mr Kerry is travelling to Seoul on his first trip to Asia since becoming secretary of state.

A senior administration official told reporters on board his plane: "It is no secret that China has most leverage, most influence, with North Korea and I think fundamentally we would want them to use some of that leverage because otherwise it is very destabilising and it threatens the whole region."

The official added that, although Washington was not privy to conversations between China and North Korea, "we would want China to bring a sense of urgency, the need to stop this escalation, into that debate".

"China has a huge stake in stability and the continued North Korean pursuit of a nuclear armed missile capability is the enemy of stability. That gives us and the Chinese a very powerful objective in common, namely denuclearisation," the official said.

U.S. President Barack Obama has urged Pyongyang to end its "belligerent approach... and to try to lower temperatures".

But he warned that while he preferred to see tensions resolved through diplomatic means, "the United States will take all necessary steps to protect its people".


[Source: BBC News, London, on April 12, 2013]

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外媒炒作解放军中朝边境大规模调动 国防部否认

Foreign media are boiling up that [China's] People's Liberation Army is moving troops on a large scale at the border between China and North Korea. - The ministry of defense is denying that.

…“大批解放军紧急开赴丹东的中朝边境”、“大量坦克向中朝边境集结”等说法 …

... Formulations are being used like: "Large units of the People's Liberation Army are urgently marching to the Chinese - North Korean border at Dandong." or "A large number of tanks is concentrating at the Chinese - North Korean border" ...

国防部新闻事务局回复称,有关报道不符合事实。中方高度关注当前朝鲜半岛形势的发展变化,一贯致力于维护东北亚地区的和平与稳定。

The news office of [China's] defense ministry replied that related news reports don't conform to the facts. The Chinese side is following with utmost interest the current developments and changes of situation on the Korean peninsula, and is persistently working to safeguard peace and stability in the North-East Asian region.


The article is naming a Japanese source for reports on Chinese troop concentrations near the border passage of Dandong.

[Source: People's Network - Global Times 人民网-环球时报, Beijing, on April 12, 2013]

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Latest News on April 12:

朝鲜媒体撰文称“战争火花或最先溅到日本”

North Korean media write: "Sparks of war will probably splash down on Japan."


An expression found in North Korean publications can be translated as "golden thunder [and] a spatter of rain 黄金雷阵雨". According to a South Korean source this is an old adage referring to the Korean War in the 1950s when Japan offered military bases for airborne combat to the allied countries. As Japan is voicing its condemnation of North Korean rethorics and is taking sides in favor of the U.S. and South Korea, North Korea might feel annoyed with the possibility that Japan could once again provide military bases for their arch-enemies in a military conflict. This, however, could be regarded as a realistic estimation because U.S. F-22 warplanes are already stationed on Japanese territory.

[Source: China News Network 中国新闻网 on April 12, 2013]




On April 12, 2013, more than 90 visitors have been registered up to now. However, only a few of them could be localized:


Above: A Canadian visitor is using an internet access point in the U.S.
because Niagara Falls is a community divided between both countries.


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