A leading Chinese analyst has warned that Beijing needs to come up with backup plans – either on its own or with Washington and Seoul – in case the crisis on the Korean Peninsula escalates into conflict.
 
Hong Kong's South China Morning Post newspaper said Monday that Dean of the School of International Studies at Peking University Jia Qingguo has called on China to work with the U.S. and South Korea on contingency plans.
 
The professor noted in an article published on the East Asia Forum in Australia that the four major areas which need to be addressed are North Korea’s nuclear arsenal, an influx of refugees, restoration of social order in North Korea, and post-crisis political arrangements in the North.
 
He said that if the Kim Jong-un regime fell, most likely as a result of a U.S. military strike, either China or the U.S. should be ready to manage North Korea’s nuclear facilities to prevent the spread of the weapons.
 
He said a safety zone should be set up in northeast China to shelter North Korean refugees, and Beijing should talk to Washington about whether to accept a unified Korea.

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