BEIJING. Jan 15 (Interfax) - China will enlist border area residents to patrol the border with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), local media wrote on Thursday.
"China and North Korea are protecting the border. But the situation is much more complicated for either side to exercise effective control," a Chinese army newspaper wrote.
It said the national government had decided to enlist local residents to help secure the border. Every ten houses in the border area will have their own stretch of border to protect.
A North Korean army deserter crossed into China on December 28. He killed four people in the Yanbian Korean autonomous prefecture in the Jilin province in an attempted robbery.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Wednesday that China had sent an official protest over that case to Pyongyang.
The two countries share a border of approximately 500 kilometers.