China enlists civilian militia to patrol border with North Korea
China deploys civilians to keep watch after four elderly villagers killed by military deserter
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 .