Exclusive new photos from the China-North Korea frontier reveal that China has continued to expand security infrastructure at key points for cross-border exchange this year, measures that when combined with new fencing on the DPRK side will make defections and smuggling even more difficult.

The photos taken this fall and obtained by NK News show that China has erected high-quality fencing with barbed wire along parts of the Tumen River where no fences previously stood.

This includes newly erected fencing along the main river pier in the border city of Tumen, historically one of the main hubs for bilateral trade