| Bez Bezson | 11 May 2015 4:47 a.m. PST |
So, if thinks were to kick off and the DPRK decided to attack the South, obviously the US would aid ROK and there's a decent chance other nations and/or NATO/UN/etc. would pitch in on their side as well. But is there anyone who'd be on Kim Jong-un's side? Last I heard people were figuring that China would probably wait until North Korea was beaten, and then move in. So (if that's right), while they'd be a part of things, that'd not be until the late stages of whatever happened. Anyone else like them enough to have their back against the south? |
| Winston Smith | 11 May 2015 5:09 a.m. PST |
Unless it was part of their Fiendish Master Plan(tm) China would certainly want to limit the war. |
| Bez Bezson | 11 May 2015 6:29 a.m. PST |
True, they'd rather have the current administration than risk the pro-US RoK taking over. But would they actually send troops in to aid North Korea, or just build up forces near the borders (North & South) and apply political pressure/threats? |
| Cold Steel | 11 May 2015 8:47 a.m. PST |
China would not join in except to keep foreign troops away from their border or to stave off the complete collapse of the NorK regime. They have no desire for an open conflict with the US; the economic damage to losing our markets would be devastating. China intervened in 1950 specifically to keep foreign troops away from their borders and would do so again. They are no different in this regard than the US. If and when the regime collapses, even without a war, it will be a humanitarian nightmare not seen since the early years of the Soviet Union. Millions of starving, armed refugees will have only 2 places to go: across the mined DMZ or the Yalu River you can wade across. China would yell a lot if the ROKs alone invaded, but it would be for show. As long as there were no foreign troops north of the DMZ, China and the ROKs would reach an agreement. China's priority is getting US/UN troops out of the peninsula, not the survival of an irrational regime. |
| Weasel | 11 May 2015 8:48 a.m. PST |
There won't be a war but if space aliens invaded and there was, there's not much chance the Chinese will get involved. As Cold Steel points out, the Chinese don't want a swarm of refugees crowding across the border and they especially don't want US troops on their own border.
that's as far as their interest goes today. |
| Sundance | 11 May 2015 9:07 a.m. PST |
Iran might throw in with them. Seems to me there has been some wheeling and dealing between the two. |
| Mako11 | 11 May 2015 10:03 a.m. PST |
Well, China backed NK last time, so I'm not sure things would be any different this time around, as long as they get NK to do most of the fighting, and it stays within the Korean Peninsula. Yes, Iran would definitely be on the NK side. |
| Cold Steel | 11 May 2015 11:14 a.m. PST |
Mako, China didn't get involved until the US/UN moved across the 38th Parallel. Their intervention was for their own interests, not the NorKs. They tried rather clumsily to tell us through the Indian ambassador that they wouldn't get involved if only the ROKs went north. |
 Legion 4  | 12 May 2015 8:45 a.m. PST |
I've got to agree with Cold Steel … The North Koreans don't have any where near the backing from China [or Russia for that matter !] like they did in 1950. Many things have changed since then. And even with the Persians supporting Un & Company. It's very unlikely they'd could or would land troops for a ground war. But none-the-less it would be a really interesting "What-If ?" game …  |
| latto6plus2 | 12 May 2015 9:27 a.m. PST |
The only people that can support them are the chinese.
The only people that can support others to support them are the chinese. |
| Robert666 | 12 May 2015 2:31 p.m. PST |
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looks for scenario material in a World War IV boardgame.
