Seen from a border village in China's Yanbian prefecture, portraits of Kim Jong-il and Kim Il-sung, late North Korean top leaders, hang outside a North Korean train station. Photo: Cui Meng/GT

As winter comes, villages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in Northeast China's Jilin Province are coated with snow. But under the quiet surface, there is a feeling of unease among the locals.

In this bitterly cold season, the Tumen River that separates Yanbian and North Korea has frozen over, which makes it easier for their neighbors on the other side to come across.

Previously, Yanbian residents used to help impoverished North Koreans, but they are more wary now after some came across with criminal intentions.

In early January, reports of a December killing of two elderly Chinese couples in Yanbian by a North Korean soldier shocked many people.

Occasionally, especially in winter, North Koreans dodge border guards, cross the river and barbed wire fences, break into Chinese homes and steal food, money and other necessities, before sneaking back into their own country.

Experts believe hunger and poverty force them to take these risks.

A survey conducted by the Yanbian procuratorate showed that the rate of crimes involving foreigners in the prefecture was 30 times higher than the national level. Between 2005 and 2010, a total of 237 foreign criminals were prosecuted, 81 percent of whom were North Korean, the Guangzhou-based Southern Weekly newspaper reported on January 15.

The North Koreans have increased the number of guard posts along the border. In some places, there is a post every 100 meters.

Chinese border police have also set up more checkpoints and organized militias to patrol the border. Some local residents feel safe and stay.

Still, many more have chosen to move away, looking for better job opportunities and greater levels of security.

Global Times

A town in Musan county in North Hamgyong Province in North Korea, which borders Yanbian prefecture in Northeast China's Jilin Province  Photo: Cui Meng/GT

A Chinese armed police stands guard at a border post in the city of Tumen, Yanbian prefecture. Photo: Cui Meng/GT

A Chinese child plays next to a milestone in Tumen that marks China's border with North Korea. Photo: Cui Meng/GT

The Tumen River which separates China and North Korea winds around the hills near Nanping town, Yanbian. The river's right side belongs to North Korea. Photo: Cui Meng/GT