Seoul's military said Tuesday it had fired warning shots after North Korean soldiers briefly crossed the border this week, with tensions high over Pyongyang's trash-carrying balloons and Seoul's loudspeaker propaganda campaigns.
"Some North Korean soldiers working within the DMZ on the central front briefly crossed the Military Demarcation Line," the JCS said in a statement, referring to the line of control in the heavily fortified border between the two Koreas.
"After our military issued warning broadcasts and warning shots, they retreated northward," it said, adding the incident happened June 9.
A group of North Korean soldiers inadvertently briefly crossed the demarcation line on June 9 and returned back to its territory after warning shots, Yonhap reported citing the South Korean military.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, about 20 DPRK servicemen violated the demarcation line in the central part of the demilitarized zone at about 12:30 local time . The South Korean side issued a warning via loudspeakers and made several warning shots. After that, the North Korean troops returned back to their territory; South Korea registered no signs of "unusual behavior."
According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson Lee Sung Joon, Seoul does not believe that North Korean troops crossed the line intentionally; the spokesperson pointed out that dense vegetation in that area obscures the signs that mark the demarcation line.