North Korea had its third nuclear test on February 12, I saw it on the news that evening. Over the past six decades since I came back from North Korea after the Korean War (1950-53), I've been keeping an eye on news concerning this country.

Veterans like me who joined the war have complex feelings toward North Korea. On the one hand, we remember our days in the battlefield our whole lives. During the war in the 1950s, Chinese volunteer soldiers, many of whom had been seriously injured in fierce fights, stayed overnight at the houses of ordinary North Koreans at times.

I still remember that North Koreans were extremely poor, but they sincerely welcomed us. They'd often starve themselves to save food for us, and took care of injured soldiers.

One day, I found I had mistakenly left a military map in the house of a North Korean family. I panicked and returned after a rapid march to look for the map. The family knew the map was extremely important, and so they hid and waited until we came back.

To a certain extent, I understand North Korea's determination to develop a nuclear capability. Look at the scenario in Libya or Iraq. North Korea has to build its own deterrent.

On the other hand, I know that China's relations with North Korea have experienced twists and turns over the past years. I know the negative sides of the country, such as famine and the hereditary regime. News about North Korea has been rare. After I returned from the country, I tried to write letters in the 1960s to a North Korean family which I stayed with, but never got any reply.

Before we entered North Korea to help fight against the US, military leaders repeatedly told us that the mutual dependence of China and North Korea were like that between teeth and lips. I don't think such a relationship should change today.

Large-scale famine and social chaos may take place if we cancel food aid to North Korea. But will that do any good to China? If, say, South Korea, which is led by the nose by the US, accomplishes unification of the Korean Peninsula, will that do any good to China? North Korea should remain a strategic buffer zone for us.

The article was compiled by Global Times reporter Chen Chenchen, based on an interview with Zhang Shaotang, an 83-year-old veteran of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army in the Korean War (1950-53). chenchenchen@globaltimes.com.cn