China Shows Mettle In North Korea 'Missile Intercept': Press

     BEIJING (MNI) - China has held military exercises simulating the takedown

of "incoming missiles" from North Korea, according to a report in Hong Kong's

South China Morning Post published late Tuesday.

     The drills, held in the early hours of Tuesday, were conducted in the area

of Bohai Bay, in waters that separate China from North Korea, the report said,

citing the official Chinese military news website 81.cn.

     The website said the Chinese military's missile-defense force shot down the

missiles in the simulated attack on the first attempt. 

     The drills followed North's Korea's detonation of a sixth nuclear bomb on

Sunday -- a blast with far more destructive power than the nuclear bombs dropped

on Japan in World War II and which caused tremors in northeastern China. 

     China has held three military exercises in the Bohai Bay area since late

July, the SCMP report said. 

     The SCMP report quoted Li Jie, a Beijing-based naval expert, as saying that

China's latest military drills showed that China "is prepared and able to stop

any power that threatens stability in the region," and was also a warning to

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has threatened the use of military force to

rein in North Korea. 

     "At the moment, the U.S. is showing some restraint, but Trump is not a

predictable president, and he could make a surprise move," the report quoted Li

as saying. "China can only rely on [conducting] more drills to raise its

military capability amid an unstable situation."

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 (10) 8532-5998; email: vince.morkri@marketnews.com

--MNI BEIJING Bureau; +1 202-371-2121; email: john.carter@mni-news.com

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