This incident, which occurred this Sunday, June 9, while relations between the north and the south are going through one of the most tense periods in years.
North Korean soldiers briefly crossed the border with South Korea this Sunday, June 9, whose soldiers carried out warning shots, the South Korean General Staff (JCS) announced on Tuesday.
“North Korean soldiers working inside the DMZ on the central front briefly crossed the military demarcation line. After our army broadcast warning messages and fired warning shots, they retreated toward the north,” the JCS said in a statement, referring to the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that separates the two enemy countries.
“Apart from the immediate retreat of North Korean soldiers after our warning shots, no unusual movements were observed,” the JCS added.
Tight relationships
The North and South Korean sides of the 4 kilometer wide DMZ are heavily fortified but the demarcation line itself, located in the middle of the zone, is marked only by simple signs. Clashes between soldiers from the two camps who patrol there break out from time to time.
Pyongyang has in recent weeks sent hundreds of balloons weighted with trash such as cigarette butts, toilet paper, and even animal excrement, to its southern neighbor, in what it describes as a response to the spread propaganda, in particular by leaflets or USB keys, against the North Korean regime by South Korean activists.
