China to step up inspections at border with North Korea during Olympics to stop migrants

China will step up inspections along its border with North Korea during the Olympics to try to reduce the growing number of North Korean migrants, an official of South Korea's spy agency said Tuesday. The National Intelligence Service official also dismissed a news report that China plans to close all bridges into its communist ally during the Olympics and that China has demanded that North Koreans already working in China leave. Citing unnamed diplomatic sources, South Korea's Yonhap news agency had reported Monday that the closure of bridges was part of China's efforts to prevent North Koreans from crossing into China. In Beijing, a Chinese Foreign Ministry official identified by his surname Shang said he never heard of such a report. The NIS official, who asked not be named, citing an internal policy, told The Associated... [read full story]