South Korean army fires warning shots after North Korean incursion

The South Korean army stated Tuesday it had fired warning shots following a brief incursion by North Korean soldiers across the highly secured border dividing the peninsula. These events come amid a powerful political crisis in Seoul.

“Our army issued a warning message and fired warning shots, and the North Korean soldiers moved north,” said the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The incident involving about ten North Korean soldiers occurred around 5 p.m. (08:00 GMT) in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the North from the South, it specified. Some of the soldiers who crossed the border were armed and wore bulletproof vests. “Our army is closely monitoring the movements of North Korean soldiers and taking necessary measures in accordance with operational procedures,” added the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

North Korean troops made a series of small incursions across the border last year, which Seoul then described as likely accidental. This incident comes just days after the South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached by the Constitutional Court for attempting to impose martial law in December. New elections have been scheduled for June 3.

Unusual activity

The South Korean army stated it had detected unusual activity from North Korean soldiers on Monday. Approximately 1,500 North Korean soldiers were seen clearing and installing barbed wire in frontline areas, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson, Lee Sung-jun, said Monday.

“The North Korean army is currently conducting training,” he said, noting that the army was closely monitoring any missile launches by nuclear-armed North Korea. The South Korean military hierarchy declared itself ready to respond to any action from the North.

The two Koreas have technically been at war for more than seven decades, with the conflict that opposed them from 1950 to 1953 ending in an armistice, not a peace treaty. Relations between Pyongyang and Seoul have been at a low point for several years after the North launched a series of ballistic missiles in violation of U.N. sanctions last year.

In the latest tests, Pyongyang fired several ballistic missiles in mid-March, according to Seoul, following the start of joint exercises between the South Korean army and U.S. troops stationed in South Korea. Confirming the deterioration of relations, North Korea blew up last year the roads and railways linking the country to South Korea and reinforced the defenses of certain border areas with new mines.