North Korean troops build a road near the Demilitarized Zone in this undated photo provided by the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff on June 18, 2024. (South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff)
North Korean troops who crossed into South Korea at the Demilitarized Zone last week did not heed broadcasted messages to halt, prompting South Korean soldiers to fire warning shots, according to a U.N. Command investigation.
A group of North Korean soldiers crossed the central area of the Military Demarcation Line, the actual border between the two Koreas, around 3 p.m. Aug. 19, according to a text message to news reporters from South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff on Saturday.
The group consisted of about 30 North Korean troops, and their crossing spurred the South Korean military to broadcast several warnings from loudspeakers, according to an unattributed statement emailed Monday by U.N. Command.
The North Korean troops, who were working on construction and maintenance in the area, “did not respond to the broadcast,” the command said.
“[South Korean] forces then fired warning shots in a designated warning shot area to compel the [North Korean] soldiers to return to the north side of the [Military Demarcation Line],” the command said.
The North Koreans returned to their side of the border after the shots were fired, Joint Chiefs spokesman Nam Ki-soo said during a news conference Monday.
North Korean state-media on Saturday reported that its soldiers were building barriers “near the southern border line” when the South Korean forces fired over 10 warning shots from a 12.7 mm machine gun.
The K6 — South Korea’s variant of the U.S. military’s M2 Browning heavy machine gun — fires 12.7 mm rounds and is widely used by the South Korean army.
“This is a very serious prelude that would inevitably drive the situation in the southern border area … to the uncontrollable phase,” Vice Chief of the North Korean army Lt. Gen. Ko Jong Chol said in a statement published Saturday by the Korean Central News Agency.
Ko described the incident as a “serious provocation” but did not specify whether North Korean troops had strayed beyond their border. No details on potential injuries were reported by Ko.
North Korea on June 25 and July 18 informed the U.S. military of its intent to carry out construction and maintenance in the area to “prevent misunderstanding and accidental conflict,” Ko added.
U.N. Command confirmed that the North Korean army had “delivered prior notification … about their intended construction activities” and encouraged the North to maintain communications, according to its statement Monday.
“[U.N. Command] recognizes the value of prior notifications and dialogue in mitigating the risk of misinterpretation and accidental incidents,” its statement said. “We remain ready to engage [North Korean army] counterparts on this and other potential issue areas related to our standing agreements.”
The multinational organization provides security on South Korea’s side of the DMZ and investigates potential violations of the armistice that paused hostilities in the 1950-53 Korean War.
South Korean forces have occasionally fired warning shots after North Korean troops were alleged to have crossed the 160-mile-long border.
Warning shots were fired when groups of 10 to 30 North Korean troops crossed the border in at least three separate incidents in June 2024, the Joint Chiefs said at the time.
