China's army on high alert over North Korea tension, source says
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Beijing - China's People's Liberation Army is on high alert and making contingency plans for a further escalation of tension on the Korean Peninsula, a source with close ties to the Chinese military told dpa.
PLA generals were concerned about the security of North Korean nuclear facilities and the possibility of an influx of refugees into China, said the source, who recently met several generals.
"The generals are very much concerned," the source said Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
They also worried that North Korea's recent sabre-rattling could lead to accidental military confrontation that would see the Korean Peninsula "up in flames." The contingency plans included the possibility that Chinese forces could cross into North Korea, if a clash breaks out, to secure nuclear facilities and prevent any nuclear disaster.
"Nobody talks about the danger that something like Fukushima might happen in North Korea," the source quoted a general as saying.
The PLA was also planning how to handle a potential influx of refugees across China's 1,400-kilometre border, the source said.//DPA
