What’s China up to now?
China said Monday that its military has taken over patrolling its frontier with North Korea, but wouldn’t disclose why it made the change.
The Foreign Ministry would not confirm reports in Hong Kong media that China moved 150,000 troops to the border to stem crime by North Korean soldiers and to pressure its isolated communist neighbor to halt its nuclear weapons program.
“It is a normal adjustment carried out after many years of preparation by the relevant parties,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a brief statement.
It wasn’t clear which agency previously patrolled the border, which is off-limits to foreign reporters. But such duties are believed to have been held by the People’s Armed Police, a paramilitary force also run by the Defense Ministry.
And as if things couldn’t get any worse for the poor Norks, now that big meenie GW Bush is threatening to cut off food aid:
The United States is reviewing whether or not to send North Korea the remaining 66,000 tons of food aid due this year out of concern the food might not get to people who need it, the State Department said Monday.
The department’s deputy spokesman, Adam Ereli, said North Korea has restricted the ability of the U.N. World Food Program, which distributes humanitarian aid in the nation, to monitor food distribution and ensure that it gets to “vulnerable North Koreans.”
“Unfortunately North Korea continues to restrict access and monitoring, which is still a major concern,” Ereli said.
North Korea on Monday accused the United States and Japan of thwarting assistance by U.N. organizations, and urged the international bodies to reject attempts to politicize humanitarian aid.
Does this mean no ddokguk up North this Lunar New Year’s Day?
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