China Deploys 150 Thousand Troops to North Korea Border

After a meeting with President Trump, China has not only offered concessions on trade but also has moved 150 thousand troops to the North Korean border.

The Chinese troops have taken over border patrol duties, in part because of a rise in crime in the region, however, we all know it’s because of rising tension in the regions as well.

The movements follow reports of Chinese military exercises in the region this year and could be intended to warn North Korea not to follow through on recent threats to test a nuclear bomb, analysts said.

China has moved troops into new positions along its 870-mile frontier with North Korea and ordered them to take over border patrol duties from military police units. The move comes following reports of rising crime in the region by North Korean soldiers and some of the thousands of North Korean refugees who sneak into China every year.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement today that the People’s Liberation Army took charge of defending the border in early September, but it offered no details and declined to comment on reports in Hong Kong newspapers that the move involved 150,000 soldiers.

It is not generally known how many military police had been assigned to the border.

The statement described the change as a “normal adjustment carried out after many years of preparations” and noted that the army also had been ordered to take over patrols along a portion of the border with Burma.

The Chinese government rarely comments on military matters, and analysts said its announcement could be aimed at stepping up pressure on North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program.

China has hosted two rounds of multilateral talks aimed at peacefully resolving the standoff between North Korea and the United States, pushing North Korea to give up its nuclear arms program and pushing the United States to address North Korean fears of being attacked.

Its efforts appear to have strained relations with North Korea, a longtime communist ally with which it has a mutual defense treaty. In recent talks, North Korean officials have complained that the Chinese have betrayed them and sided with the United States, according to foreign diplomats.

About 300,000 Chinese troops are based in the provinces closest to North Korea, along with about 250,000 members of the Chinese People’s Armed Police Force, which is usually responsible for border defense and also reports to China’s military commanders. Analysts said that China was probably moving these troops closer to the border instead of bringing in new forces from other parts of the country. They also said a move of 150,000 troops would represent a major deployment, and seemed unlikely.

The movements follow reports of Chinese military exercises in the region this year and could be intended to warn North Korea not to follow through on recent threats to test a nuclear bomb, analysts said. In late February, China sent a similar warning by closing an oil pipeline to North Korea for three days; North Korea’s feeble economy depends on Chinese shipments of food and fuel to function.

“The Chinese traditionally move troops to the borders to send signals to others,” said David Shambaugh, director of the China policy program at George Washington University and the author of a recent book about the Chinese military. “This looks like a signal to North Korea, and it could be a signal to the Americans, too.”

https://truthfeed.com/breaking-china-deploys-150-thousand-troops-to-north-korea-border/63817/