China warns of North Korean war by MARCH as Beijing prepares to mobilise is military

WAR with North Korea could break out at any time, a top Chinese general has warned.

Beijing should move troops to its border with the war-mongering Stalinist nation to prepare for a conflict that could break out any time between now and March, Lieutenant General Wang Gongguang claims.

The Global Times, the English-language outlet of the Beijing government mouthpiece People’s Daily China, reports the official is warning of the need to be "mentally prepared for it anytime".

He added: "China should be psychologically prepared for a potential Korean War, and the Northeast China regions should be mobilised for that."

General Gongguang is urging the deployment of antimissile systems and troops in the border area with North Korea in anticipation of conflict between North and South Korea, and others such as Japan and the United States.

Once war erupts, South Korea will be the most damaged, followed by China, Wang said, adding that there will be a huge risk of being exposed to nuclear contamination and earthquakes.

“Such mobilisation is not to launch a war, but for defensive purposes,” he said.

Military expert and TV commentator Song Zhongping added that there needs to be preparations for refugees surging over the border in the event of a conflict.

“Defensive action could lead to engagement if US action on the Korean Peninsula threatens China’s core interests,” Song said.

South Korea’s foreign minister will visit Japan this week to meet her Japanese counterpart, with Seoul and Tokyo seeking to boost co-operation over the handling of North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes.

The warning comes as China's air force carried out another round of long-range drills on Monday, flying into the Sea of Japan, prompting South Korean jets to scramble, and again around self-ruled Taiwan amid growing tension over China's assertiveness in the region.

China has in recent months ramped up its long-range air force drills, particularly around Taiwan, claimed by China as its own.

The air force said in a statement that fighter and bomber aircraft flew through the Tsushima Strait that separates South Korea from Japan and into international waters in the Sea of Japan.

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