China Deploys 30,000 Soldiers Near the Aprok River

The Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun reported on October 7 that at the beginning of the month, China deployed 30,000 soldiers of its People’s Liberation Army near the Aprok River, the border between China and North Korea.

The Sankei Shimbun added that the Japanese government has also grasped the situation by conjecturing satellite photographs, and the government is carefully watching the situation by activating its intelligence network.

It reported that another reliable source has informed that North Korea is also dispatching its crack contingent to the Aprok River area, and the movements of both nations are very active in the border area.

The reliable source said, “It seems that China is either preparing for a large scale drill or trying to enforce rigidly the regulations of North Korean defectors.”

The Sankei Shimbun assumed that the deployment of the Chinese army is either to check North Korea’s missile launch and nuclear test or to make preparation against a possible civil war, which might occur in North Korea surrounding North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s succession system.

Won-Jae Park parkwj@donga.com