THERE can be no winners in a war between the US and North Korea, Beijing warned yesterday as it encouraged both sides to start talking.

Any fighting on the Korean peninsula would be likely to draw in China, which has repeatedly expressed concerns about a wave of refugees and the possible presence of US and South Korean troops on its border.

“Once a war really happens, the result will be nothing but multiple loss. No-one can become a winner,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi declared in Beijing at a news conference with French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault.