China fuels North Korean ire over nuclear weapon test

Wang Guangya

BEIJING - North Korea may bring the date of a nuclear test forward after a contentious remark by a Chinese diplomat that angered generals in the reclusive state.

Pyongyang was upset by China's United Nations Ambassador Wang Guangya saying that "for bad behaviour in this world no one is going to protect them".

Mr Wang's remark riled North Korean generals, who bristled at the notion of needing China's protection and urged their leader, Kim Jong-il, to bring the test date forward, a source with close ties to the North Korean leadership said.

"North Korea is especially unhappy with China," the source told Reuters after speaking with senior North Korean officials, who called it "chauvinism".

Pyongyang's nuclear test could now come as early as this week, the source said.

However, he reiterated that despite the generals' wishes, there was still a chance North Korea might hold off on the test if it could win United States concessions.

A second source with ties to the Chinese leadership said Beijing was alarmed that the chosen test site, deep inside an old coalmine in the north of the country, was just a few hundred kilometres from China.

"It could have grave consequences on the environment in northeast China," said the source, who asked not to be identified.

China's relations with North Korea were long characterised as being "as close as lips and teeth" after they fought side-by-side during the 1950-53 Korean War. China is a major aid donor but bilateral ties soured in recent months, with Pyongyang complaining that Beijing was failing to champion its interests.

Ties would be further strained if North Korea were to conduct the nuclear test while this week's plenary session of the elite Central Committee of China's ruling Communist Party was under way. It was due to run until Wednesday.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe flew to Beijing yesterday for talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao on the North Korean crisis.

- REUTERS