North Korea 'Primed and Ready' For Nuke Test

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China sees North Korea as a buffer between their vital economic regions next to the border, and South Korea, with its heavy United States military presence, said John Delury, an associate professor at Yonsei University.

"I think at this point the common interest between the United States and China outweigh (North Korea saber-rattling)", Alexander Neill, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Singapore, told CNN.

Trump's saber-rattling - he has accused Pyongyang of "looking for trouble" - is familiar to consumers of North Korean state media, who have been warned for decades by their leaders of imminent U.S. attack and attempted regime change. Solve the problem in North Korea.' That's worth having deficits.

While Trump emphasized the warmth of his interactions with Xi, he warned the Chinese leader last week that new sanctions could include penalties against Chinese banks and companies doing business with North Korea if Beijing did not step up pressure, one US official said.

During the call, Xi told Trump that China remains "willing to maintain communication and coordination with the American side on the issue of the peninsula", according to the foreign ministry.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a regular briefing in Beijing on Wednesday that it was a "good thing" that the two leaders were in touch again days after meeting in Florida. "Under the current circumstances, this is very unsafe", Lu told reporters at a regular press briefing.

China, which shares a long land border with North Korea is the reclusive state's sole major ally and main trading partner.

The newspaper noted Trump's recent decision to launch 59 Tomahawk missiles at a Syrian airfield in response to a deadly gas attack last week.

Trump said he thought Xi wanted to help, but added: "We'll see whether or not he does".

It conducted its fifth nuclear test on September 9, 2016.

India, Bangladesh ink deals to boost cooperation
Another 12 agreements worth about $9 billion are expected to be signed over the next two days, officials said. Prime Minister Modi also called for diversifying commercial relations between the two neighbours.

"China will not remain indifferent to Pyongyang's aggravating violation of the UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution", said an article in the Global Times.

Reports have said, the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force (MSDF) may carry out helicopter landings on the USS Carl Vinson, which was deployed near the Korean peninsula in the wake of Kim Jong-un's missile tests.

With a US aircraft carrier group steaming to the area and tension rising, South Korea said it believed the United States would consult it before any pre-emptive strike against the North.

Saturday will be the 105th anniversary of his birth.

Scores of foreign journalists gathered in Pyongyang for North Korea's biggest national day, the "Day of the Sun", were taken to what officials billed as a "big and important event" early on Thursday.

Not so fast, say analysts who are quick to puncture hopes of budding bromance between the leaders of the two countries.

"The amount of pressure that has been brought to bear economically on North Korea is far short of what was brought to bear against Iran", another senior administration official said.

"I don't think war will break out", he said.

The training began the day after the United States deployed their mobile THAAD missile defence system to South Korea that is becoming increasingly important as tensions mount with Pyongyang.

"More and more Chinese support the view that the government should enhance sanctions over Pyongyang's nuclear activities".

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