SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Dozens of North Korean soldiers briefly crossed the heavily fortified border Tuesday but retreated after warning shots were fired, Seoul said, the second such incident in two weeks as Pyongyang reinforces its frontiers with the South.
Landmine explosions near the border also injured multiple North Korean soldiers, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, adding that Pyongyang had recently deployed troops in the area to clear scrub and lay mines, as relations between the two Koreas plummet.
The two countries technically remain at war as the 1950 to 1953 conflict ended in an armistice, and the Demilitarized Zone dividing the peninsula is already one of the most heavily mined places on earth.
But North Korea is moving to reinforce that, laying more landmines, reinforcing tactical roads and adding what appear to be anti-tank barriers, Seoul’s military said.
The JCS said it believed the Tuesday crossing — like a previous one on 9 June — was accidental, with some 20 to 30 North Korean soldiers carrying work tools involved in the incident, which took place around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.
“Dozens of North Korean troops crossed the Military Demarcation Line today... (and) retreated northwards after warning shots” were fired, a JCS official said.
North Korean soldiers tasked with reinforcing the border had suffered “multiple casualties from repeated landmine explosion incidents” but they “appear to be recklessly pressing ahead with the operations,” the official said.
“North Korea’s activities seem to be a measure to strengthen internal control, such as blocking North Korean troops and North Koreans from defecting to the South,” the JCS official said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to visit Pyongyang later Tuesday, sparking concern in Seoul, which has accused the North of shipping arms to Moscow for use in Ukraine in exchange for help with its nascent satellite program.
