What was once a warm relationship between China and North Korea has gone sour — sour enough that reports Wednesday said North Korea had moved its newest tank units not to its highly militarized southern border but northward, to its border with China. (Via Sky News)
And unlike much news that comes out of North Korea, this report seems legitimate. It comes from The Chosun Ilbo, one of South Korea's major newspapers.
It's a pretty significant move for North Korea, basically suggesting that Pyongyang is concerned about attack from China — a nation that has historically served as North Korea's only significant ally.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has consistently given North Korea the cold shoulder during his two years in office. In early July, he became the first Chinese head of state to visit South Korea before the North.
Kim Jong-Un and North Korea made their displeasure obvious — timing new missile tests to coincide with the China-South Korea meeting. (Video via CNN)
China has urged North Korea to cease its nuclear tests and build bridges with the international community, but so far the Kim regime has been unwilling to change its ways. Last year China voted with other U.N. Security Council permanent members to place major sanctions on North Korea.
As for the new tanks on the Chinese border, don't expect them to pose any serious obstacle to China's military. It pours more money into defense spending than any country aside from the U.S. — and about 20 times as much as North Korea.
This video contains images from Getty Images.
