South Korean forces fired warning shots after several North Korean soldiers briefly crossed the heavily mined Demilitarized Zone earlier this week. The North Korean soldiers moved back north of the de facto border after the warning shots, according to Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff. Lee Jae Myung has sought warmer ties and pledged to build military trust, while Pyongyang says it has no interest in improving relations. Pyongyang's state media said the incursion occurred as North Korean soldiers worked to permanently seal the frontier and accused Seoul of a deliberate provocation, saying South Korean forces fired more than 10 warning shots. Tensions follow prior confrontations and North Korea's decision last year to shut off the southern border and destroy connecting roads and railways.
South Korea fired warning shots at North Korean soldiers who briefly crossed the heavily fortified border earlier this week, Seoul said on Saturday, after Pyongyang accused it of a deliberate provocation that risks uncontrollable tensions. South Korea's new leader Lee Jae Myung has sought warmer ties with the nuclear-armed North and vowed to build military trust, but Pyongyang has said it has no interest in improving relations with Seoul.
Pyongyang's state media said earlier on Saturday that the incident occurred as North Korean soldiers worked to permanently seal the frontier dividing the peninsula, citing a statement by Lt Gen Ko Jong Chol. Calling the event a premeditated and deliberate provocation, Ko said Seoul's military used a machine gun to fire more than 10 warning shots towards the North's troops, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.
The last border confrontation between the arch-rivals was in early April when South Korea's military fired warning shots after about 10 North Korean soldiers briefly crossed the frontier. North Korea's military announced last October it was moving to totally shut off the southern border, saying it had sent a message to US forces to prevent any misjudgment and accidental conflict. Shortly after, it blew up sections of the unused but deeply symbolic roads and railroad tracks that connect the North to the South.
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