A Chinese military unit in Shenyang that would be deployed to the Korean Peninsula in case a war breaks out, started a large-scale military drill involving 20,000 personnel on Saturday.

According to the Xinhua news agency, the Chinese army explained this was merely a scheduled drill to improve operational capabilities. But there is speculation that it came in preparation for a sudden turn of events on the peninsula.

Saturday was the 64th anniversary of the Chinese intervention in the Korean War.

This e xercise brought together a dozen branches of the army including infantry, an armored unit, air defense forces, and chemical, biological and radiological defense units.

The Chinese People's Liberation Army has carried out seven large-scale military exercises this year, and this will be the biggest, according to Xinhua.

