China is violently stomping on and crossing the line - North Korea

north korean leader

North Korean state media has warned Beijing against crossing a “red line” in its relationship with Pyongyang, in a rare criticism of its closest ally.

A commentary in the state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun vowed North Korea would not give up its nuclear program. It also accused China of “dancing to the tune of the US” and providing Washington excuses to deploy more military assets to the Korean peninsula.

The commentary urged two Chinese state-run newspapers, the People’s Daily and Global Times, to refrain from making reckless remarks which risked undermining relations between the two countries.

The newspaper specifically criticised the Chinese media’s call for more sanctions against North Korea as a way to avert war. “We didn’t cross the ‘red line’ of the (North Korea)-China relationship,” the commentary said. “China is violently stomping on and crossing it without hesitation.”

“They even talked rubbish that (North Korea) strains the situation in northeast Asia and ‘offers the US excuses for deploying more strategic assets’ in the region,” said the commentary attributed to an author named Kim Chol. The commentary said North Korea’s nuclear program exists to protect the country from invasion and Pyongyang would not scrap it to ease tensions.

“North Korea will never beg for the maintenance of friendship with China, risking its nuclear program which is a precious as its own life, no matter how valuable the friendship is,” it said.