Live Fire Incident: Casualties Reported After North Korean Soldiers Cross Military Demarcation Line
Something big is happening on the heavily militarized Korean border, following several days of soaring tensions which has included North Korea flying hundreds of trash and feces-filled balloons into the south.
There are several reports of dozens of North Korean soldiers having briefly crossed the border, and soon retreating, after warning shots were fired by South Korean border troops, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency.
Per Reuters, citing Yonhap at about 11:00am local time: "South Korea's military fired warning shots after North Korean soldiers crossed the Military Demarcation Line near the border, the Yonhap news agency reported on Tuesday citing the country's Joint Chiefs of Staff."
A Yonhap wire has further said "Korea military suffers 'multiple casualties' in landmine explosion near border."
While details of exactly what is happening are still emerging, this comes one week after a live fire incident occurred along the border. Last Tuesday, South Korean border forces fired warning shots after troops on the other side 'accidentally' crossed the border in the south.
Here is what happened exactly one week ago:
"There were no unusual movements other than the North Korean army immediately moving north after our warning shots," South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman, Col. Lee Sung-jun, told a briefing.
He generally downplayed the incident which happened Sunday, and suggested there was no indication the enemy troops were seeking to invade territory.
"The South Korean military is closely monitoring the movements of the North Korean military and taking necessary measures."
If casualties among DPRK troops are confirmed, this could be the start of a major live fire incident between the two historic enemies, also as Kim Jong-Un has been warning he could restart nuclear tests.
#UPDATE Several North Korean soldiers working near the heavily fortified border with the South were injured in a landmine explosion, the Yonhap News Agency reports, citing Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff.
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) June 18, 2024
"North Korean military suffers multiple casualties due to a mine explosion… pic.twitter.com/sR2jSkmFt3
US state-funded Stripes reported yesterday:
North Korean troops have been observed creating anti-tank barriers, reinforcing roads and carrying out other military projects within the Demilitarized Zone, according to the South’s military on Monday. South Korean intelligence agencies spotted the improvements near the border in recent days, army Col. Lee Seong-jun, a spokesman for the country’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during a news conference Monday.
Lee declined to elaborate on the North’s activities at the border and said the South’s military was still analyzing its operations. North Korean troops were also observed building walls and roads between the Military Demarcation Line — the actual border between the two Koreas — and the Demilitarized Zone, an unidentified military source said in a Yonhap News report Saturday. The 2½-mile-wide DMZ spans 150 miles across the Korean Peninsula from coast to coast.
Nuclear saber-rattling has been coming out of Pyongyang since last summer, when the US Navy parked a nuclear submarine in South Korea for the first time in years.
Pyongyang has also reportedly deployed extra troops the border amid the escalating tit-for-tat.