South Korean guards fire warning shots as North’s troops cross DMZ border

South Korea fired warning shots after North Korean troops crossed the fortified border between the two countries, according to the South’s Ministry of National Defense.

The ministry in a text message to reporters said the incident happened “recently.” A report Sunday by Yonhap News Agency, citing unnamed government sources, said it occurred last week.

“The North Korean military has recently crossed the Military Demarcation Line, and our military fired warning shots in accordance with the operational procedures,” the text message said.

The Military Demarcation Line marks the border between North and South Korea. It lies within the Demilitarized Zone that has separated the two countries since the end of the Korean War in 1953.

The incident took place in the DMZ’s eastern sector and marked the first warning shots since an incursion last year, according to Yonhap. North Korean troops crossed the line 17 times last year, according to the report.

The same ministry spokesman said in a text message Tuesday that he could not confirm the recent incident was the first this year.

South Korean forces occasionally fire warning shots after issuing a warning broadcast when North Korean troops cross the line, said the spokesman, who could not disclose military operational procedures due to security concerns.

South Korea is part of United Nations Command, headquartered at the U.S. Army’s Camp Humphreys south of Seoul, which oversees the armistice.

“[U.N. Command] is aware of the reported incident and is investigating the circumstances,” command spokeswoman Yun In Kyeong told Stars and Stripes in an email Tuesday. The command takes all allegations of border crossings seriously “and remains committed to maintaining the Armistice and reducing the risk of miscalculation,” she said.

In an unrelated case, Yonhap reported July 29 that South Korean sentries on the western side of the border were standing guard without ammunition in their machine guns. The report cited unnamed military officials.

Lt. Gen. Han Ki-sung, commander of 1st Corps and responsible for that section of the DMZ, was removed without a reason made public, according to the ministry on Aug. 3.

South Korea closely monitors North Korean soldiers’ movements and maintains a firm readiness posture, the ministry said Sunday.

South Korean officials customarily speak to the media on condition of anonymity.

North Korea has been clearing land and building fences along the demarcation line but it is unclear whether that construction is complete. 

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said Saturday that South Korea will seek to finally end the war, which ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty, and move from the “unstable armistice” to peace regime.

Lee, speaking at a Liberation Day ceremony, said the government will elicit positive response from the North and create a stable peninsula, according to a transcript posted on the Ministry of Unification website.