South Korea deploys helicopters to contain fire in DMZ: Seoul military

SEOUL – South Korean military deployed helicopters to contain a wildfire within the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), the buffer zone separating the two Koreas, it said on April 11.

The announcement comes after the country suffered its

deadliest wildfires in history in March

, which claimed more than 30 lives in its south-eastern regions.

The cause of the fire, which broke out in the afternoon of April 10 in the Goseong area of Gangwon Province within the DMZ, is currently unknown, the country’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

“Two forest fire extinguishing helicopters from the Korea Forest Service have been deployed to extinguish the fire since around 6.30am today (5.30am Singapore time),” it said.

There are no reports of damage to personnel or infrastructure on the South Korean side, it added.

“Our military conducted a North Korea guidance broadcast to the North before deploying ... helicopters,” it said, adding that efforts to control the forest fire south of the border are “progressing smoothly”.

It comes days after South Korea’s military said

its troops fired warning shots

when around 10 North Korean soldiers briefly crossed the heavily fortified border in the DMZ.

The two countries are technically still at war as the 1950 to 1953 conflict ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

South Korea has been increasingly affected by climate change. The deadly wildfires in March had been fanned by high winds and ultra-dry conditions, with the south-eastern regions experiencing below-average rains for months after the country had its hottest year on record in 2024.

With the DMZ a four-kilometre-wide “no man’s land” that runs the full length of the 250km border, much of the zone is covered in lush forest and wetlands, and largely unvisited by humans since it was created after the 1953 ceasefire that ended Korean War hostilities. AFP