The Chinese military has deployed troops near the border with North Korea to counter defections, as well as stem the number of violent incidents that have taken place there, Radio Free Asia reported.

Sources in the area said that troops from the People’s Liberation Army have been stationed in the area near the Tumen River, the most frequent crossing point for North Korean defectors, whether they stay in China or ultimately move on to another country.

Sources in the city of Helong, in China’s northeastern Jilin Province, told the network that, in areas where there had previously been only