China's Inability to Influence N Korea to Result in US Strike

The Chinese government's inability to persuade North Korea to stop its nuclear missile program will likely result in a preemptive strike by the United States, Japanese House of Representatives member Gen Nakatani said during an event in Washington, DC on Monday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — On Friday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a UN Security Council meeting that Beijing was not the key to resolving tensions on the Korean Peninsula and urged renewal of multilateral negotiations.

"China is expected [to act] by the rest of the world and whether they are able to give up the nuclear missile development of North Korea, if that cannot be done, the preemptive strike of the United States will be approved," Nakatani said at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula escalated as North Korea carried out a number of missile launches and nuclear tests in the recent months, which are considered to be in violation of the UN Security Council resolutions.

As a response to the potential use of nuclear weapons, the United States sent a naval group led by US aircraft carrier Carl Vinson to the Korean Peninsula. US media reported that US President Donald Trump might order a strike against North Korea in light of its military activities.