China sends thousands of troops to North Korean border

China is sending troops to the border amid fears that North Korea will conduct a fifth nuclear test during its upcoming party congress.

Chinese soldiers are deployed to the North Korean border. Illustration photo: Asia Times

2,000 Chinese soldiers were mobilized to Dandong city, bordering North Korea, UPI news agency quoted a source from Hong Kong.

China often sends troops to the border whenever there is turmoil in North Korea, such as after Pyongyang tested a hydrogen bomb in January, or before that when Kim Jong-un's uncle-in-law Jang Sung Taek was executed.

China has set up two large guard posts on the border, patrolled by soldiers 24 hours a day. Some of the soldiers are responsible for measuring radiation.

Relations between Beijing and Pyongyang have deteriorated since 2012, when leader Kim Jong-un took power. Kim has repeatedly tested missiles despite China's calls for denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

Observers say tensions between the two countries could lead Beijing to cut off coal supplies to Pyongyang, something that happened when the Moranbong Band tour company canceled a Chinese tour in December 2015.

On April 20, the commander of the US Army in the Pacific, General Vincent Brooks, warned that without effective deterrence measures, North Korea would successfully build an intercontinental ballistic missile that could reach any location in the US and its allies.

According to VNE