Reports: China Bolsters North Korea Border Defense

A fence with razor wire stands at the border on the Yalu river between Dandong. China, and Sinuiju, North Korea, on May 23, 2017.

China has been beefing up its defense along its shared 880-mile border with North Korea, according to a review of Chinese military and government reports.

Beginning in late 2016, China began constructing a new border defense brigade, installed 24-hour video surveillance along its border backed by drones, built bunkers for use in the potential event of a chemical or nuclear attack, and practiced new response drills for multiple military units should a crisis arise that calls them into North Korea, the reports stated.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has repeatedly denied it has sent significant numbers of troops into border areas, though, instead implying its increased border security is in line with its traditional military preparedness.

"The Chinese military maintains its normal combat readiness and routine training at the China-DPRK border," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said at a regular press conference Tuesday.

Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Saturday at the Aspen Security Forum that war with North Korea was not "unimaginable." He also suggested the Trump administration thinks diplomacy may only be feasible for "a few more months."

“[W]e should give Secretary Tillerson full support in attempting to resolve this diplomatically and economically even as we recognize that it may not happen, and there may have to be a follow-up option, which is the military option," Dunford said.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned of military action against North Korea as well to stop its nuclear weapon development program. He has also called on China to be more strict with the isolated country, threatening sanctions on some Chinese businesses with ties to Pyongyang.

The U.S. military did not appear poised for a military response following North Korea's successful missile launch on July 4, though, instead focusing its efforts on the development of its missile defense system.

The news of China's preparations along its border with North Korea comes a week after South Korean President Moon Jae-in proposed talks and a deal with North Korea that would lead to the country's "complete denuclearization" by 2020 in return for a peace treaty that would ensure that Kim Jong Un’s regime survives. North Korea has not yet responded to the proposals, CNN reports.

While South Korea waits to hear back from Pyongyang, its government is also pushing to revise its missile guidelines with the U.S. in order to double the maximum weight of its warheads on Seoul's ballistic missiles, local Yonhap News Agency reported Monday.

Friends, if you like this post kindly comment below and do share your responds Thanks for reading