South Korea fires warning shots as North Korea breaches border for the third time
- In Reports
- 05:02 PM, Jun 21, 2024
- Myind Staff
South Korean soldiers fired warning shots on Thursday after North Korean troops crossed the border into South Korea's territory and subsequently retreated. This marks the third incident this month on the heavily armed peninsula.
According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, several North Koreans, who were working within the Demilitarised Zone buffer that separates the two countries, breached the border and withdrew after verbal warnings were issued. The warning shots were then fired by South Korean forces following the retreat of the North Korean personnel.
Hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin concluded his first visit to North Korea in 24 years, where he and Kim Jong Un struck a significant agreement, tensions escalated along the border dividing the Korean peninsula. The deal entails mutual defence cooperation between the two countries in the event of an attack.
Even before Putin's visit, tensions had been mounting. According to the South Korean military, North Korea has been deploying large numbers of troops into the buffer zone area in recent months. Their activities include planting mines, constructing anti-tank barriers, and undertaking road repairs.
Last month, North Korea commenced launching hundreds of balloons containing trash across the border in response to South Korea's aerial surveillance activities. In retaliation, South Korea suspended a 2018 agreement with North Korea aimed at easing military tensions.
On Friday, Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korea’s leader, hinted that Pyongyang might escalate by sending more trash balloons over the border. This was in response to South Korean activists, including defectors, who had been flying propaganda leaflets northwards using balloons for over a decade. These leaflets carry critical messages about North Korea’s leadership.
In a statement carried out by the official Korean Central News Agency, Kim Yo Jong denounced the South Korean activists and defectors, referring to them as "disgusting North Korean trash" for sending leaflets across the border without authorisation. She indicated that they would face consequences for their actions.
Hundreds of thousands of troops and the majority of their firepower are positioned near the border by both Koreas. The recent exchanges of retaliatory actions increase the potential for minor incidents to rapidly escalate, potentially involving the approximately 28,500 US military personnel stationed in South Korea.
The actual border, known as the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), lies within the 4-kilometre (2.5-mile) wide Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) that divides the peninsula. The DMZ is easily recognisable due to its rows of razor-wire fencing, whereas the MDL is harder to discern, typically marked by chest-high signs that are often spaced far apart.
Image source: ANI
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