A person suspected of illegally crossing the border from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was killed by Chinese border patrol soldiers in Helong, Jilin province, on Thursday, the city's publicity department reported on its micro blog.

The suspect reportedly resisted arrest after entering the village of Nanping and was shortly before 4 am. The case remains under investigation.

The Yanbian Korean autonomous prefecture, which administers Helong, shares more than 500 kilometers of border with the DPRK.