China denies reports of 'Beijing dispatching troops' to N. Korea to protect citizens

Beijing, Jan 17 (ANI): A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman has negated South Korean claims that China is sending troops to the North for protecting its citizens in that country, terming them as "sheer fabrication."

Xinhua quoted Hong Lei said that a report published Chosun Ilbo, a newspaper in South Korea in this regard is not true.

The South Korean newspaper quoted one of its country's officials as saying that Beijing and Pyongyang had recently discussed positioning Chinese troops in the North's Rason city with the intention of protecting Chinese-invested port facilities and Chinese nationals there. (ANI)