China has taken matters into its own hands by creating armed civilian militias to help protect its citizens living near the border with North Korea who have become victims of violent crimes.

China's state media reports that violent crimes in Chinese towns near the border have risen, prompting China to organize the militias to help secure the unprotected border.

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The militias were tasked to protect the villagers from North Korean armed soldiers and guards who cross the border to rummage for food and supplies.

Relations between the two countries have been strained long before the border killings due to North Korea's arrogant diplomatic behavior and its insistence on keeping a nuclear arsenal that have created tensions in  Asia.

The killings only made matters worse for Pyongyang as China has  decided to restrict cross-border trade and shipments of food and other supplies to the country.

Although China is the most significant ally of North Korea, Beijing has had it with Pyonyang's destructive mode and threatened to halt all support it has been extending to the hermit kingdom over the years.

North Korea has been suffering from hunger, and malnutrition is prevalent in the country, according to international aid agencies. The killings only exacerbated its miserable condition following China's threat of withdrawing economic support from the country.

Aside from the armed militias, China has deployed several security systems such as video cameras, patrol vehicles, and has set up a hotline for its citizens to report suspected North Korean intruders.

Recently, China has lodged a complaint before the Pyongyang government for the killing of four villagers at Yanbian province during a robbery attempt by a suspected North Korean soldier. The suspect was later apprehended and will be charged, reports said.

The province shares a 300-mile border with North Korea. The border has long been easy to pass through. When winter comes, the Tumen River that separates the two countries freezes, allowing easy crossings by North Koreans.

North Korean refugees and beggars sometimes cross into China to beg for food but recently, armed assailants believed to be North Korean soldiers have been terrorizing and killing villagers close to the border, prompting the residents to abandon their homes and live elsewhere.

TagsNorth Korea, Border crimes