South Korea fired warning shots at North Korean troops who briefly crossed the DMZ.
North Korea called the action a "deliberate provocation" and warned of escalating tensions.
The incident occurred amid President Lee Jae Myung’s diplomatic visits to Tokyo and Washington.
South Korea Fires Warning Shots At North Korean Troops Crossing DMZ
Tensions rise along the Korean border as North Korean soldiers briefly cross into South Korean territory.
Summary
South Korea has confirmed it fired warning shots at North Korean soldiers who briefly crossed the military demarcation line separating the two countries. According to BBC, the incident occurred earlier this week in the heavily-fortified Demilitarised Zone (DMZ).
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said some North Korean troops working in the border region crossed the line at around 15:00 local time on Tuesday (07:00 BST) before returning to the north. The JCS added that South Korean forces fired warning shots as the soldiers moved back.
North Korean state media described the shots as a "deliberate provocation" and warned that the situation could escalate. According to BBC, Lieutenant General Ko Jong Chol of the North Korean Army said that Seoul's forces fired more than 10 rounds from a machine gun at the intruding soldiers. He was quoted as saying the incident could push tensions on the southern border into an "uncontrollable phase."
The border between North and South Korea has remained tense since the Korean War, which ended in 1953 without a formal peace treaty. The DMZ is a strip of no-man’s land, often obscured by dense vegetation, and incidents of incursions have occasionally heightened military alert. BBC reported that North Korea has been working to seal the border permanently since last year.
The timing of the incident coincided with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's departure from Seoul for visits to Tokyo and Washington. Despite efforts by Lee’s government to improve inter-Korean ties, including suspending loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts across the border, Pyongyang has so far remained dismissive. According to BBC, Kim Jong Un’s sister has recently rejected reconciliation efforts made by Seoul.
The two Koreas remain technically at war, though direct military clashes have been rare in recent years. BBC noted that Pyongyang considers loudspeaker broadcasts an act of war and has previously threatened to destroy the equipment.
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(With inputs from BBC)
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