China and North Korea have signed a military agreement to "safeguard security and stability" along their shared 1,400-kilometer border.
The signing of the accord on Saturday comes after Beijing decided late last year to replace military police border guards with regular soldiers.
China's People's Liberation Army Daily said Wednesday the agreement is of important significance to the continued safeguarding of security and stability along the Sino-North Korean border region and to the strengthening and development of good neighborly relations.
In September 2003, China's armed police forces, a branch of the military, handed over border defense duties to the People's Liberation Army, a move that came as tensions were mounting over North Korea's nuclear weapons program.