'No troops going to North Korea'
- Source: Global Times
- [04:53 October 21 2010]
- Comments
North Korean soldiers stand guard in the truce village of Panmunjom in the middle of a buffer zone between the two Koreas Wednesday. Tensions are running high across the border ahead of next month's G20 summit to be hosted by South Korea. Photo: AFP
By Guo Qiang
Senior Chinese strategists Wednesday denied a report that said China may position troops in North Korea.
The strategists also accused conservatives in South Korea of escalating tensions on the Korea Peninsula when bilateral relations between Beijing and Pyongyang were believed to have strengthened after the North introduced the likely successor to Kim Jong-il.
South Korea's Dong-A Ilbo newspaper reported Wednesday that China will send 2,000-3,000 People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops to Pyongyang in a bid to help modernize the North Korean army by the end of this year at the earliest, quoting an unnamed source in Beijing.
Korean language and customs-training programs are underway for chief Chinese commanders, the report said.
China's Ministry of National Defense was unavailable for immediate comment, but experts noted that some forces in South Korea are aimed at "creating a tense atmosphere on the Korean Peninsula and provoking hostile sentiments against China and North Korea."
The report, published on the newspaper's official website in Korean, said the Chinese troops are likely to be stationed in Sunan District on the outskirts of Pyongyang.
Chinese volunteer soldiers crossed the Yalu River on October 19, 1950, to work alongside the Korean People's Army in the 1950-1953 Korean War.
The report came as Kim Jong-un, the senior Kim's third and youngest son, was promoted to a four-star general and elected as a vice chairman of the of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) at the end of September as North Korea convened a key plenary session.
The nomination has been closely monitored by observers. And analysts said a stable North Korea is in China's national interests.
A tradition of holding high-level exchanges appeared to have been further strengthened after the younger Kim was confirmed to be North Korea's next leader.
Recently, Zhou Yongkang, a senior Communist Party official, paid a three-day visit to Pyongyang to "further cement the traditional friendly ties" as North Korea celebrated the 65th anniversary of the founding of the ruling WPK, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
The elder Kim paid two visits to China, in May and August, respectively. On August 27, President Hu held talks with Kim in Changchun, northeasten Jilin Province.
