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China replaces guards on North Korea border with soldiers
Beijing, Sept 16: China says that its military has taken over patrolling its frontier with North Korea, but hasn`t disclosed why it made the change.
Beijing, Sept 16: China says that its military has taken over patrolling its frontier with North Korea, but hasn't disclosed why it made the change.
The foreign ministry would not confirm reports in Hong Kong media that China moved 150,000 troops to the border
to stem crime by North Korean soldiers and to pressure its
isolated communist neighbour to halt its nuclear weapons programme.
"It is a normal adjustment carried out after many years of preparation by the relevant parties," the Chinese foreign ministry said in a brief statement yesterday.
It wasn't clear which agency previously patrolled the border, which is off-limits to foreign reporters. But such duties are believed to have been held by the people's armed police, a paramilitary force also run by the defence ministry.
US and South Korean analysts, who said they couldn't confirm the troop movements, disagreed over whether Beijing would take such a step to pressure its longtime ally.
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Chinese have been reorganising border forces for about a year, replacing border guards with army troops to increase security along its frontier, including the North Korean border, and the move does not appear to be linked to a specific issue.
Bureau Report
"It is a normal adjustment carried out after many years of preparation by the relevant parties," the Chinese foreign ministry said in a brief statement yesterday.
It wasn't clear which agency previously patrolled the border, which is off-limits to foreign reporters. But such duties are believed to have been held by the people's armed police, a paramilitary force also run by the defence ministry.
US and South Korean analysts, who said they couldn't confirm the troop movements, disagreed over whether Beijing would take such a step to pressure its longtime ally.
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Chinese have been reorganising border forces for about a year, replacing border guards with army troops to increase security along its frontier, including the North Korean border, and the move does not appear to be linked to a specific issue.
Bureau Report