China and North Korea are military allies so any attack on the DPRK will draw China in. If anyone can handle war with China though Agent Orange can
[quote]Chinese military intervention in a North Korean collapse scenario is practically a certainty. At the same time, China has repeatedly stated that U.S. military forces entering North Korea would be intolerable, and yet U.S. forces regularly train to do just that. The reality is that South Korea, as capable as it is, may not have a military large enough to handle all contingencies. In such cases the power-projection capability of the U.S. military would be essential. China famously intervened in the fall of 1950 as U.S. and South Korean forces crossed the Yalu River. In the event of a North Korean collapse, barring any agreement between the two countries ahead of time, a military confrontation between the United States and China appears likely.
What would such a conflict look like? The United States would be pushing forces into East Asia, while the Chinese would be working hard to keep them out. Such a scenario plays to the strengths both sides have been steadily developing over the past decade, a forced-entry capability for the U.S. military and an antiaccess/area-denial capability for the People’s Liberation Army.
On the the Chinese side, the People’s Liberation Army would try to shut the door on East Asia while Chinese forces advance on the ground into North Korea. Antiship ballistic missiles such as the DF-21D would attempt to keep American carrier battle groups one thousand miles or farther away from the mainland—enough to restrict American naval aviation to missions involving aerial refueling. Medium-range missiles such as the DF-26 “Guam Express” would strike American air and naval facilities on the island of Guam, striking Andersen Air Force Base and U.S. Navy facilities.
Unfortunately, it would also be in China’s interests to target U.S. military facilities in Japan, particularly those on the island of Okinawa, the amphibious naval base at Sasebo, aircraft carrier and surface forces based at Yokosuka, and Misawa Air Base. This would almost certainly cause Japanese military and civilian casualties and draw Japan into the war. Chinese medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and tactical aircraft would all conduct strikes against American, and gradually Japanese, targets. The Americans, on the other hand, would struggle to keep their chain of military bases leading to Korea operational while at the same time striking back at Chinese forces and racing the Chinese into North Korea—a very tall order. THAAD missile interceptors on Guam would attempt to defend the island from incoming ballistic missiles, and Patriot PAC-2 and PAC-3 batteries would defend bases, cities and economic targets from ballistic and cruise missiles. American and South Korean forces would advance north over land or conduct an amphibious landing on North Korea’s shoreline; while North Korean opposition via sea and air would be negligible, Chinese air and naval forces could act to prevent a landing.
The most dangerous aspect of a Sino-American conflict would be conventional U.S. strikes on the Chinese mainland. Such strikes would be necessary to shut down the ballistic-missile threat and allow U.S. forces greater freedom of action. On the other hand that would likely galvanize Chinese public opinion and place it squarely behind the Communist Party, making a ceasefire difficult to achieve.[/quote]
