China recently moved an Army corps close to the North Korean border and staged a live-fire exercise with tanks and self-propelled guns.

Experts believe Beijing is taking no chances in case a North Korean provocation leads to an emergency.

The official Global Times on Monday reported that an armored brigade from a Shenyang mechanized infantry unit carried out live-fire maneuvers near the border on April 1.

Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun quoted a source in Dandong as saying the Chinese military has also stepped up vehicle patrols along the North Korean border.