US Warned China of Possible Military Moves Against North Korea

Obama Demanded Hu Pressure North Korea

Officials revealed that at the peak of tensions between North and South Korea, President Barack Obama phoned Chinese President Hu Jintao and warned him that the US might “redeploy” troops in the region against the “threat” of North Korea.

Obama was also said to have demanded that President Hu add “pressure” against North Korea because the nation had become a “direct threat” to the US mainland. White House officials now insist that the comments did not mean the US was planning a unilateral attack against North Korea.

Tensions peaked in late December when South Korea responded to a brief clash during live fire drills by launching a number of additional, even larger live fire drills and began openly talking about unifying the Korean Peninsula by annexing the North.

At the same time US officials were making these bellicose statements to China, the Obama Administration also pledged to support any moves against North Korea that Southern officials decided to make.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.