China's Ministry of National Defense on Friday denied reports that it is sending a large number of troops to the North Korean border.

"These reports do not match the facts," the ministry said in a statement on its website. "The Chinese military is maintaining normal combat readiness and training status" on the China-North Korea border.

The United Press International on Wednesday quoted a report by South Korean news service Newsis saying that China had dispatched 2,000 soldiers along the border, as Pyongyang is reportedly preparing for a fifth nuclear test ahead of its party congress in May.

Similar reports of China massing troops on its northeastern border have appeared occasionally in the past. The Chinese government normally dismisses such reports.

China has repeatedly said that it wants to maintain a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and see a restart of the Six-Party Talks. Earlier last month, China agreed with an UN decision to sanction North Korea for developing nuclear weapons and missiles, though it insisted that the sanctions should not hurt ordinary people

On April 5, China's Ministry of Commerce released a detailed embargo list, barring the import of coal, iron, gold and rare earth; and banning the export of aviation gasoline and rocket fuels such as kerosene to North Korea.