By Alex Jensen
SEOUL
China has issued an official complaint to North Korea after a suspected army deserter was detained after allegedly killing four people in a robbery in China’s Helong border city.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported early Monday that the gun-wielding North Korean had killed the four Chinese citizens and injured another in Nanping town, north of the Tumen River that overlooks North Korea's North Hamkyong province.
It quoted an unnamed source as saying that the apparent robbery took place Dec. 28, and the suspect has been under investigation since Chinese police and military personnel captured him in a manhunt.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying was reported to have said later Monday that Beijing had "lodged representations" to the North over the "killing" of the four nationals.
State news agency Xinhua added that the soldier had committed the acts during the robbery after crossing the border "in search of food."
In North Korea, all able-bodied young men must fulfill 10 years of military service, during which food shortages at army camps have forced some to cross into China.
Around 30 percent of the population of China’s Yanbian autonomous prefecture, Jilin province, consists of Koreans.
In December 2013, a young North Korean defector in his 20s killed an elderly couple in China’s Yanji border city and stole 20,000 yuan ($3,210). He was later caught after fleeing to Beijing.
