Report: Russia, China Training for War If US Invades NKorea

China and Russia appear to be planning to attack American military forces if they invade their ally North Korea, Newsweek reported Monday.

Newsweek cited two former military officials, including Lieutenant General Wang Hongguang, former deputy commander of China's Nanjing Military Region.

"[T]he war on the Korean Peninsula might break out anytime between now and March next year," Wang said Saturday at a conference hosted by The Global Times, the newspaper of China's ruling Communist Party.

On Sunday, the paper quoted military expert Song Zhongping as saying China could attack U.S. forces if they are perceived as a threat.

"China should be psychologically prepared for a potential Korean war, and the Northeast China regions should be mobilized for that," Wang said.

"Such mobilization is not to launch a war, but for defensive purposes."

Both China and Russia have condemned North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's pursuit of nuclear weapons, but also have expressed concern President Donald Trump, who has sparred with Kim over Twitter, could go to war.

"The main target of the joint drills between China and Russia is the U.S., which has both ballistic and cruise missiles that could pose a real threat to both Beijing and Moscow," Song said in an interview with the South China Morning Post.

"Both China and Russia wanted to use these joint anti-missile drills for strategic deterrence. They want to push the U.S. to withdraw its Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) from the Korean peninsula," he added.

The THAAD system in South Korea went fully operational earlier this year.