A top Chinese general has warned that a war with North Korea could break out anytime. Because of the possibility of another world war by March, the general is suggesting the Chinese military mobilized their troops on the border with North Korea.

To prepare for a conflict that could break out anytime between now and March, Lieutenant General Wang Gongguang claims that China should mobilize their military might sooner rather than later. The Global Times, the English-language outlet of the Beijing government’s state-run mouthpiece People’s Daily China, reports the official is warning of the need to be “mentally prepared for [war] anytime”.

“China should be psychologically prepared for a potential Korean War, and the Northeast China regions should be mobilized for that,” said General Wang.  He is also urging the deployment of antimissile systems and troops in the border area with North Korea in anticipation of conflict between North and South Korea, and others such as Japan and the United States.

Should a war break out, South Korea and China will be the two countries most destroyed by the devastation. Both countries would be exposed to harsh nuclear contamination and earthquakes. “Such mobilization is not to launch a war, but for defensive purposes,” he said. According to The Sun UK, the Chinese military expert and TV commentator Song Zhongping said that China need to be prepared for refugees who will surge over the border in the event of a conflict. But Song also said the US could react impulsively over the Chinese military decision and spark a war when all the communist nation wants is preparation.

“Defensive action could lead to engagement if US action on the Korean Peninsula threatens China’s core interests,” Song said. This warning comes as China’s air force carried out another round of long-range drills on Monday, flying into the Sea of Japan, prompting South Korean jets to scramble, and again around self-ruled Taiwan amid growing tension over China’s assertiveness in the region.

The Chinese air force said in a statement that fighter and bomber aircraft flew through the Tsushima Strait that separates South Korea from Japan and into international waters in the Sea of Japan. “The Sea of Japan is not Japan’s,” Air Force spokesman Shen Jinke said, adding that the drills were lawful and reasonable.