On Friday, tensions between The United States and #North Korea escalated so much that #china stepped in to warn both sides that with storm clouds gathering things could spiral out of control and that it's time for both countries to pull back.
With #North Korea believed to be days or hours away from testing its largest nuclear weapon yet, and with America situating a naval group near the peninsula in a show of strength, the conflict has amped up beyond anyone's expectations. And China clearly wants both sides to cease and desist.
China warns both sides
“The United States and South Korea and #North Korea are engaging in tit for tat, with swords drawn and bows bent, and there have been storm clouds gathering,” the foreign minister, Wang Yi, of #China announced on Friday in Beijing after a meeting with the French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault.
Wang urged both sides to discontinue engaging in such dangerous mutual provocations and threats, "whether through words or deeds." He also said that the US or #North Korea needed to step back before the situation gets even more out of hand, according to Xinhua the Chinese state news outlet. Whoever is to blame for an outbreak of war on the peninsula will need to shoulder the responsibility and 'historical culpability' and "pay the corresponding price for this,” Wang said.
The Chinese foreign minister's exclamations were the most direct this week in regards to the brewing and hostile conflict. Considering the Trump administration has been trying to press the Chinese to stop North Korea's nuclear weapons program, these comments seemed to be a response to that pressure, but they were not directed solely at the North Koreans.
The United States knows that China doesn't want to risk their relationship with #North Korea, who have been a long time ally of the world superpower.
Indications of nuclear strength
Military officials claim that recent satellite images within North Korea indicate that the country may potentially carry out another underground explosion, despite admonitions from the #United States to restrict all military activities.
This Saturday also marks the 105th celebration of North Korea's founder, #Kim Il-sung, and it is common that such national celebrations are promoted alongside developmental military advances. The country has also earlier indicated that it would test nuclear weapons at the behest of its leader, Kim Jong-un.
A phone call to dissuade Trump from hostilities
On Wednesday of this week the #Chinese president Xi Jingpin spoke to Trump over the phone and also called for restraint, asking the US to curb its attitude to North Korea. But on Friday North Korea issued a declaration that they would attack major US bases in the South within minutes. They also said that they would target the presidential Blue House in South Korea as they denounced the Trump administration's "maniacal military provocations".The provocations that North Korea speak of are US threats of potential unilateral action as being announced from the #White House, as well as the implementation of military warships just off the Korean Peninsula.
The #North Koreans said that the US would be foolish to think that they can deal with them as they did with Iraq and Libya, who they described as "miserable victims of its aggression". They also mentioned Syria, describing the country as not responding immediately after it was attacked by the United States. This came from an official spokesman of the General Staff of the North’s People’s Army and these words were reported by the official Korean Central News Agency.
In the meantime the United States have sent a strike group that is being led by the Carl Vinson aircraft carrier, as North Korea's vice president said on Friday. He described the United States as becoming more aggressive and vicious under the new administration of president Trump and that North Korea will chose to go to war if they think they need to.
