“It pretty much sounds like a green light for targeted strikes on their nuclear/ballistic missile facilities (with a warning to consider the retaliation against ROK), while drawing a “red line” at invading and toppling the regime.”
Interesting take.
Earlier this same paper said the retaliation on the South would be a dirty bomb or other radiological dispersion weapon.
So, if your take is right, it seems that is the trade off the ChiComs are proposing.
And that is of course not a trade off we would ever accept.
I think that a lot of this is to get the South to ask us to back down and let N Korea be.
One can read that between the lines in this sentence: “One can only hope that Washington reaches out to Seoul for a second opinion.”
I think that is mostly an empty threat, as a dirty bomb would necessitate a response that NK would want to avoid at all costs, and might well cause a serious refugee flood to China.
I think that a lot of this is to get the South to ask us to back down and let N Korea be.
I gree with this completely.
“One can only hope that Washington reaches out to Seoul for a second opinion.”
The dimwit Chinese don’t seem to realize the issue is not the safety of South Korea.
The issue is the safety of the US and Japan.
And, yes, we will start a nuclear war over our own safety. After all, we’ve done it before.