China Put Military Forces Around Its Border With North Korea

It was reported that China had deployed some 150,000 military forces around its border with North Korea in strict secrecy and some pundits suggest that such move may be a preparatory action against any potential military attacks on North Korea by the U.S.

The Sing Tao, Hong Kong`s influential daily, quoted a comment of a diplomatic source as saying above yesterday, but it reported that China would not be militarily involved in the possible conflict to help North Korea, even if North Korea is attacked by the U.S. forces.

According to the paper, China replaced the armed police stationed near the borderline with North Korea from middle of the last month until the end of the last month with its 150,000 regular troops. The dispatched forces were initially interpreted as a means of blocking North Korean defectors into its land, but, in fact, it actually signifies China`s preparation for possible U.S. attacks against North Korea, the paper analyzed.

Another hidden intention of China`s military reinforcement around the border area might be to give pressure to North Korea to resolve the nuclear issue peacefully by reminding it of the high possibility of war breaking on the Korean Peninsula.

“If the nuclear issue could not be resolved in a peaceful manner, America may launch air strikes and ground military attacks on the Korean Peninsula. In that case, the forces at the borderline will settle down chaos and block the border,” the paper quoted sources as saying.

Jung-Ahn Kim credo@donga.com