(ANTIMEDIA) China — With the world waiting to see if the madness in Syria will devolve into a true global conflagration, Korean media reported Monday that China has just deployed around 150,000 troops to its border with North Korea.

From the Chosun news agency:

“As the United States announced its independent North Korean behavior and moved the United States Navy’s nuclear-powered Calvinus (CVN-70) carrier class to Singapore, the Chinese army has deployed about 150,000 troops in two groups to prepare for unforeseen circumstances.”

According to Chosun, one of the biggest media agencies in South Korea, the witness who filed the report says China was shocked by the U.S. airstrike in Syria, and the troop movement may be a direct response.

Highlighting the heightened tensions since North Korea’s most recent round of missile launches, the newspaper goes on to describe the type of military assets being moved to the border:

“The core units that respond immediately to the drastic changes in North Korea are the 39th group and the 40th group, each of which has its headquarters in Yingkou and Jinzhou in Liaoning Province. The 39th group is a heavy army mechanized unit and the 40th group is the rapid reaction group.”

The news had an immediate effect on the stock market, as reported by Nasdaq:

“The benchmark averages have surrendered earlier gains on news that China has deployed 150,000 troops to the North Korean border, and the U.S. is considering further sanctions against Russia.”

As Anti-Media has been reporting, the war drums are already beating in the South China Sea, with nations picking sides and positioning military hardware. Now, a whole hell of a lot of additional warm — and armed — Chinese bodies are being added to that mix.

This breaking news story may be updated.

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