NBC: China Will Back North Korea if US Strikes First

With tensions rising as North Korea defies the international community by continuing nuclear tests, and the U.S. reportedly readying a package of more aggressive military and diplomatic options against the regime, China has told President Donald Trump's administration that Beijing would back Pyongyang if the U.S. strikes North Korea first, NBC News reported.

China said, however, that if North Korea first hits a U.S. target, that "changes everything."

Beijing’s warning comes as one of the tactics  Trump is reportedly considering to deal with the crisis by enacting sanctions on Chinese banks doing business with North Korea.

That would be a severe escalation to the sanctions the U.S. already has adopted against Chinese entities that conduct business with North Korea, and Beijing has informed U.S. officials it would retaliate against such a move, according to NBC News.

The jockeying with Beijing on the North Korea issue comes after Trump spoke with Chinese President Xi Xinping by phone last week, but failed to reach an agreement with him on a way forward.

China already has come out against American calls for cutting its oil sales to North Korea, while the U.S. has rejected Beijing’s insistence for the Trump administration to engage Pyongyang in diplomatic talks.

The U.S. options to further isolate North Korea also call for a partial naval blockade, according to the Guardian.

The most strident language in a proposed United Nations resolution would authorize the navy of any UN member state to inspect North Korean ships suspected of carrying banned cargo and to use "all necessary measures to carry out such inspections," according to the Guardian

Such a policy could severely escalate tension, as any attempt to board or divert a North Korean vessel could trigger an exchange of fire.

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