Conservative podcast talk show host John Batchelor told Newsmax TV on Tuesday that the North Korean situation is "very, very bad" — but that China might have a larger role in Pyongyang should dictator Kim Jong-un be removed.
"I take them at their word," the WABC-AM talk show host told host Bill Tucker on "America Talks Live" in an interview. "Always take tyrants at their word.
"China, Russia, Japan and the United States right now are joining South Korea in extremely careful preparations for the worst-case scenario," he said. "This is not business as usual.
"This is very bad. Very, very bad."
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Batchelor praised President Donald Trump for his "confronting" Kim and his discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
"The most important detail here, the one to watch, is the Chinese," he cautioned, however.
"They are deploying major military assets to the area of the Yalu River. Why? Because if North Korea collapses, they do not want the peninsula reunited.
"They do not want a U.S. ally on their border — and they will move effectively to put their own guy in, their own new guy in.
"Watch the Chinese, not the Americans, not the Japanese," Batchelor said. "Watch the Chinese."
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