Life On The North Korean Border Following Train Disaster (Photo : Getty Images)
Besides the iconic Great Wall of China, the Asian giant is building another major wall that would likely be another tourist destination. Like U.S. President-elect Donald Trump who plans to build a 1,945-mile wall along its border with Mexico to stop the flow of illegal immigrants, China too aims to stop North Koreans from illegally entering the country.
Without the wall, the boundary with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea remains porous, used by impoverish North Koreans to escape the harsh reality of life in the communist state. Part of the construction, beside the wall, is the building of a large military base in Longjing City, Jilin Province, Forbes reported.
Construction began in August after residents were first relocated, according to Radio Free Asia. On the part of the North Koreans, they are reportedly not happy with the wall. The communist cousin and neighbor of China, in turn, erected an observation post on top of a nearby mountain and assigned 20 soldiers to observe the construction of the wall.
The wall was originally a fence to keep North Koreans out, but it was washed away because of the flooding of Tumen River. Besides building a stronger wall, China also replaced the old rusty barbed wire with new barbed wire.
Meanwhile, Trump told “60 Minutes” on Sunday that parts of the planned wall would be a fence instead for certain areas. During the campaign, the Republican told followers he would make Mexico pay for the wall, toughen immigration laws and secure the border, Reuters reported.
Although a Congressional report states that there are an estimated 178,000 illegal immigrants in the U.S. with criminal records, Trump plans to deport or jail up to 3 million immigrants initially, BBC reported. The first targets would be gang members and drug dealers. There are an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S., the bulk come from Mexico.
