(Bloomberg) — South Korean soldiers fired warning shots after North Korean troops crossed the border and then withdrew, marking the third incident this month on the heavily armed peninsula.
Most read from Bloomberg
Several North Koreans working within the demilitarized zone separating the two countries crossed into South Korean territory on Thursday and withdrew after being verbally warned, which was followed by the warning shots, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a message sent to reporters on Friday. .
The incident took place hours after the Russian president Vladimir Putin completed his first visit to North Korea in 24 years, where he and Kim Jong Un reached a major agreement that would see the countries come to each other’s aid if they were attacked.
Tensions along the border dividing the peninsula had been rising even before Putin’s visit. North Korea has sent large numbers of troops to the buffer zone area since April for activities such as planting mines, setting up anti-tank barriers and repairing roads, Yonhap News reported, citing military officials it did not identify.
Last month, North Korea began sending hundreds of balloons containing waste across the border after complaining that South Korea was conducting surveillance flights. In response, South Korea suspended a 2018 agreement with North Korea aimed at easing military tensions.
The two Koreas are positioning hundreds of thousands of troops and most of their firepower near the border. The recent reprisals raise the risk that a minor incident could quickly escalate, potentially involving the approximately 28,500 U.S. military personnel stationed in South Korea.
The de facto border, known as the Military Demarcation Line, is within the 4-kilometer-wide buffer of the Demilitarized Zone that divides the peninsula. While the DMZ is easy to spot with its rows of barbed wire fencing, the MDL is more difficult to identify as it is usually marked by chest-high signs that can often be placed far apart.
–With help from Soo-Hyang Choi and Seyoon Kim.
Most read from Bloomberg Businessweek
©2024 BloombergLP
