South Korea’s military has again reported a border violation by North Korean soldiers. Warning shots are fired.
According to military sources, North Korean soldiers have once again crossed the border line with South Korea in the buffer zone between the two countries. In yesterday’s incident, South Korean border guards fired warning shots, after which the intruding soldiers retreated across the military demarcation line, the General Staff in Seoul announced on Friday. It was the third time since the beginning of the month that such a border violation was reported.
As before, the soldiers were observed carrying out construction work within the demilitarized zone (DMZ), reported the national news agency Yonhap, citing a member of the top command. The brief border crossing appears to have been unintentional, and the soldiers resumed their work after withdrawing.
North Korea recently sent hundreds of soldiers to various parts of the DMZ to carry out construction work. According to the South Korean military on Tuesday, they were probably given the task of laying landmines, reinforcing roads used for military purposes and building defensive structures. These could be tank traps, it was said. Since April, several soldiers have already been killed by landmine explosions.
The DMZ still forms the de facto border between the two countries, which have been at war under international law since the Korean War from 1950 to 1953. The buffer zone, around 240 kilometers long and four kilometers wide, was set up across the Korean peninsula at the end of the war. The inter-Korean border is heavily fortified. Tensions between the two countries have been increasing significantly again for months. On Friday, Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck traveled to the inter-Korean border during a visit to South Korea.
