Foreign Affairs
China Reinforces Border Wall Against North Korea
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China is bolstering its wall on the North Korean border amid rising concerns of potential U.S. military action against Pyongyang, according to Chinese military and government websites.
The official People’s Liberation Army (PLA) website states a “newly formed border defense brigade” is conducting patrols of the border region to gather intelligence. The border has been placed under “24-hour video surveillance” by drones, according to the PLA.
The new security effort comes after North Korea launched a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) earlier in July. New security measures could also be in anticipation of North Korean refugees trying to flee a potential conflict.
China’s border with North Korea is well-fortified, and the recently held live-fire and helicopter attack drills in the area.
“Once war breaks out, we should also consider setting up an international refugee camp in North Korean territory to prevent the influx of North Korean refugees,” a retired Chinese major general wrote in an opinion piece on the state-run Global Times.
The border stretches 880 miles across China’s industrial heartland, and the larger country is afraid that a refugee crisis could disrupt the entire region.
“A mass movement of North Korean civilians across the border into China is a major concern, particularly given the dense population centers not far from the border, and the economic importance of Northeast China,” according to a recent report by the US-based Jamestown Foundation.
“The stakes are huge,” Mike Mullen, a retired U.S. admiral, said last year. “Instability generated on the peninsula could cascade into China, making China’s challenge of providing for its own people that much more difficult.”
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