China enlists civilian militia to patrol border with North Korea

China is deploying civilian militia to beef up border security in Jilin province after a North Korean army deserter allegedly killed four elderly villagers in the city of Helong during a robbery last month, a state-owned military newspaper said.

The China Defence News reported on Wednesday that the government would set up a neighbourhood watch system to guard border towns, and put a "security system" in place for every 10 households.

"China and North Korea are both keeping guard on the border," the report said.

"The situation is complicated and relying on just one party would make it difficult to achieve effective control."

The deaths in Helong's Nanping village come amid repeated outbreaks of crime in the area blamed on North Koreans and an exodus of residents from the border towns for jobs elsewhere, which has left vulnerable elderly in its wake, according to a report by Southern Weekly, also known as Southern Weekend.

The report quoted residents as saying that tighter controls were essential along the 1,420km-long porous border, which stretches from the Yalu River in the west, through Paektu Mountain and to the Tumen River in the east.

Since 2000, there had been at least 14 murder cases by North Koreans crossing the border, Southern Weekly said .

In January 2003, North Korean soldiers stormed into Banshi in the city of Hunchun and fired ammunition before retreating.

A month later, another North Korean soldier crossed the Tumen River into Dasucun and cut telephone lines to police before stabbing a couple to death.

The Tumen River near Nanping village freezes regularly during winter, allowing North Koreans to walk across the border into China.

Nanping had more than 3,000 people in the 1980s but the population had since dropped to fewer than 30 elderly residents, the report said. The primary school was completely deserted, its buildings bare and doors stolen.

The rest of the town, the mayor, vice-mayor, as well as staff at the post office, power supply and petrol stations all left the town at night, it said.

China and North Korea maintain that their diplomatic relationship remains friendly, despite three nuclear tests and leader Kim Jong-un's decision to execute his uncle Jang Song-thaek, who was an advocate of Sino-North Korean trade.