The sources also claimed that some of the unidentified armed men who conducted the attacks carried firearms and showed signs of organized movement, which has piqued curiosity as to their identity.

A Scuffle and a Chase—

According to North Korean sources, on the night of January 28, a border guard in Onsong County, North Hamgyong Province, spotted several men crossing the Duman River from Kaishantun, China, and tried to arrest them. However, there was a scuffle between the border guard and the unidentified men, ending in the death of the guard who was stabbed 38 times.

Although it is a rule to stand guard in pairs, the senior guard apparently went to have drink alone, leaving the other to his fate.

When the scuffle grew loud, guards from other posts several hundred meters away dashed out and a chase ensued. The panicking men jettisoned their bags and started running back to China.

Three disassembled rifles, ammunition, a camcorder, and a cell phone were found inside the abandoned bags, North Korean sources claim. Specific details such as the types of rifles are unknown.

At around the same time, in Hoiryong City, 40km away from the above incident, several unidentified men crossed the Duman River, fired their weapons at a North Korean border guard post, and returned to China. It is reported that North Korean border troops did not return fire.

Similar cases have also been reported in neighboring Musan County and one other unnamed location.

In the past, there have been cases of armed North Korean soldiers crossing the border into China and engaging in robbery. Last January 17, eight armed North Korean soldiers attacked the Yangsujin mine in Tumen City inside Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, resulting in one dead soldier and three arrests. Nevertheless, it is unprecedented to have armed men infiltrating and attacking the heavily defended North Korean territory. A North Korean response is predicted.

North Korean Dissidents?-

North Korean sources say that North Korean authorities consider this the work of a dissident organization composed mainly of defectors who are emulating the June 1937 Battle of Bocheonbo.

In his memoirs titled: “With the Century,” former North Korean Leader Kim Il Sung wrote, “The goal of the Bocheonbo battle was to create the sound of gunshots in Korea and let everyone know the existence of an armed struggle.”

Inside North Korea, rumors that the attacks were launched by defectors who went to South Korea are already spreading. Some claim that they were launched by defectors unable to live well in South Korea. Other rumors claim the attacks are the work of forces trying to strain North Korea-China relations after Chairman Kim Jong Il’s visit to China.