Russian President Dmitry Medvedev dismissed speculation that Moscow's new military doctrine would see a return of Cold War tensions in an interview published on Thursday.
Medvedev denied that NATO was singled out as the main threat to Russia's national security in a new military doctrine that he approved earlier in February. But he did stress that NATO's "endless" expansion was a real cause for concern.
"NATO is not the main military threat in the military doctrine," he said. "The issue is the endless expansion of NATO by the swallowing up of countries that were either once part of the Soviet Union or our close neighbors. This, of course, causes certain problems, because, whichever way you look at it, NATO is a military alliance."
He also said that NATO's encroachment on Russia's borders and the deployment of missiles "cannot but worry us."
"This does not mean that we are returning to the Cold War, but we have to take these things in account."
Since the collapse of the Warsaw Pact, NATO has expanded from 12 members to 28, absorbing the majority of Moscow's Cold War allies in Eastern Europe and some former Soviet republics.
Earlier this month, Romania and Bulgaria said they were in talks with U.S. President Barack Obama's administration on deploying elements of the U.S. missile shield on their territories from 2015.


Medvedev says no return to Cold War tensions over NATO expansion

Originally Posted by Don

Jim, where do you get a total of 130 divisions in the Shenyang Military Region which borders NK? Best info I could find indicates a total of about 113 active divisions + a few brigades/regiments of arty and helicopters for the entire land military of China. Institute for Strategic Studies says there are 3 Group Armies in the district. Still admittedly a lot of firepower.

Here is a piece from the Institute of Strategic Studies, part of the US Army War College.

As the ground forces still constitute two-thirds of the PLA, the modernization of conventional land capabilities presents both major challenges and opportunities. Ground forces comprise 35 specialist maneuver brigades and 145 maneuver divisions, each of these comprises up to 8 brigades,and have a wide range of missions— spread over a vast territory from the western border with India to central Asia and beyond. The largest concentration of PLA forces, comprising some 231 brigades forming 89 Divisions of ground forces with 21 strategic reserve divisions, 8 marine divisions and 4 specialist operations divisions is the Shenyang Military District bordering North Korea. This force has been in a state of high readiness for several years. This military district also boasts 21 People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) bases with some 759 combat aircraft, 267 support aircraft and 176 reserve aircraft of various types and ages.

Managing the disparate missions and types of ground forces has resulted in a “hybrid” mix, blending old and new capabilities, unit organizations, and equipment. The bureaucratic domestic competition over scarce defence resources likely has prevented the systematic
analysis of an uneven modernization effort among the ground forces in China’s seven military regions. One trend that has captured analysts’ attention is the PLA’s acquisition and deployment of newer helicopters, including Russian Mi-17s, that allow the PLA to
project presence more easily and rapidly.

If you count the numbers mentioned, that totals some 130 Divisions. It does not give division strength or even brigade strength, but other information I have read indicates that the size of a Chinese Brigade is comparable to those in the West..by this I suspect they mean the US designation of Brigade (1500 to about 3200). The British Army has Brigades up to around 8000 strong (16 Air Assault Brigade)

Originally Posted by Don

The problem I see with NK is that they could very easily sell/distribute warheads, fissionable materials to terrorist or rogue states without the Chinese knowing. The ultimate problem with NK is the Dear Leader Kim Jong-IL. The guy is a nut job and the absolute ruler of twenty-six million people who are totally cut off from outside information as to the way of the world and has his hands on nuclear weapons & delivery systems. The country is the poorest in the world and weapons are an easy sell anywhere in the world. Scares me, and I don't scare easily.

I agree totally with that...I think the Chinese probably do privately and are as concerned, but they play things close to their chests..