by WorldTribune Staff, October 14, 2016

Hillary Clinton warned that if Beijing didn’t “control” North Korea the U.S. would “ring China with missile defense.”

The Chinese military was “the biggest supporters of a provocative North Korea. So China, come on. You either control them or we’re going to have to defend against them,” the former secretary of state was quoted as saying when addressing a Goldman Sachs conference in June 2013.

The content of the speech was contained in thousands of hacked emails belonging to Clinton’s Democratic campaign chairman, John Podesta, which were released by WikiLeaks.

“You know, we all have told the Chinese if they [North Korea] continue to develop this missile program and they get an [intercontinental ballistic missile] that has the capacity to carry a small nuclear weapon on it, which is what they’re aiming to do, we cannot abide that,” Clinton said. “[We’re] going to ring China with missile defense. We’re going to put more of our fleet in the area.”

The release of Clinton’s comments comes amid rising tension between China and South Korea over the deployment of the U.S.-built Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system. Beijing has strongly protested the decision to deploy the system in South Korea, prompting China and Russia to announce additional missile defense drills.

If Clinton’s tough talk did reach Pyongyang, the Kim Jong-Un regime was having none of it: North Korea has carried out two nuclear tests this year, in January and September, along with a series of missile tests, in defiance of United Nations sanctions.

Clinton said Chinese President Xi Jinping’s administration appeared to have taken a more dismissive stance towards its military’s support to Pyongyang.

“The biggest supporters of a provocative North Korea has been the PLA (People’s Liberation Army). The deep connections between the military leadership in China and in North Korea has really been the mainstay of the relationship,” Clinton said.

“So now all of a sudden new leadership with Xi and his team, and they’re saying to the North Koreans – and by extension to the PLA – no … you’re going to have to pull back from your provocative actions.”

  Hillary Clinton threatened to ‘ring China with missile defense’ if N. Korea nuclear program not stopped, John Podesta, THAAD, WorldTribune.com, Xi Jinping