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Old games are being replayed along the borders of South and North Koreas. South Korea’s military fired warning shots after some North Korean soldiers briefly crossed the borderĀ at the weekend, Seoul officialsĀ said, amid a recent rise inĀ tensionĀ over Pyongyang’s launch of balloons carrying trash into the South. Fortunately, it did not lead to an exchange of fire, as is seemingly apparent from reports.Ā
TheĀ breachĀ occurred at around 12:30 p.m. (0330 GMT) on Sunday when an unspecified number of North Korean troops in the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) separating the two KoreasĀ crossedĀ the military demarcation line, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said on Tuesday.
JCS spokesman Colonel Lee Sung-jun said the military did not consider the breach to be intentional as the area was densely forested, obscuring border markings or any roads.
“They headed north immediately after our military’s warning broadcasts and warning shots, and there were no unusual movements,”Ā he told a briefing.
Yonhap news agency, citing an unnamed JCS official, reported there were around 20-30 troops mostly carrying pick axes and other tools, and they appeared to be lost.
The incident occurred after the North has sent thousands of balloons containing trash in recent days to the South, includingĀ some 600 overĀ the weekend, calling it a “gift”Ā forĀ North Korean defectorsĀ and South KoreanĀ campaignersĀ who have flownĀ balloonsĀ carrying anti-Pyongyang leafletsĀ and aid parcelsĀ in the other direction over the border.
SeoulĀ suspendedĀ a 2018 inter-Korean military pact andĀ resumedĀ military activities around the border, including reinstallingĀ loudspeaker broadcasts, calling Pyongyang’s action “base and dangerous.”
The South Korean military has previously fired warning shots at North Korean soldiers crossing the border, but most such incidents took place around theĀ maritime borderĀ which Pyongyang has disputed.
The two Koreas are still technically at war after their 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty. Both are formidable military powers. While the South has galloped ahead in terms of economy, human rights, democratic values and a lot more, the North continues with its focus on military capability alone.
Team Bharatshakti
(With inputs from Reuters)
