South Korean military fires warning shots after North Korean soldiers cross demarcation line
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North Korean soldiers build a strongpoint in the demilitarised zone on June 4.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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SEOUL – South Korea’s military fired warning shots after North Korean soldiers crossed the Military Demarcation Line near the border on June 18, according to the country’s joint chiefs of staff (JCS).
Some 20 to 30 soldiers breached the line by 20m inside the demilitarised zone on the morning of June 18.
They briefly moved back north after warning shots were fired by the South, according to a JCS official.
The JCS did not think the breach was intentional, the Yonhap news agency reported.
North Korean soldiers suffered multiple casualties while working due to the explosion of landmines in the demilitarised zone, the JCS official told the press.
North Korea’s military has been conducting various activities along the front line, including deploying soldiers and planting landmines, the official added.
Such activities appeared to be part of efforts to tighten border control and prevent North Koreans from defecting to the South, the official said.
“The South Korean military... is closely tracking the activities of the North Korean military in the front-line area as well as working closely with the United Nations Command,” the official was quoted as saying in a statement.
The JCS released photos which it said show groups of North Korean soldiers removing railway tracks along a railway line connecting the two Koreas, as well as reinforcing tactical roads and planting landmines.
The incident comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin was to visit North Korea on June 18 and 19 for the first time in 24 years, according to the two countries.
Last week, South Korea’s military fired warning shots
