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S. Korean military fires warning shots to N.Korean soldiers who crossed MDL

S. Korean military fires warning shots to N.Korean soldiers who crossed MDL

Posted July. 13, 2015 07:20,   

한국어

On Saturday, 10 North Korean soldiers crossed the military demarcation line (MDL) near Cheorwon in Gangwon Province and returned to the North after receiving warning shots from the South Korean military. This is the first time in this year that the South fired warning signals to send back North Korean soldiers who intruded the MDL.

Sources from the military said on Sunday that a group of armed soldiers intruded the MDL at around 8-9 a.m. on Saturday. Having failed to send them back with warning announcement, the South Korean military fired warning shots, against which they returned without firing back.

“During the annual military training this year, they have crossed the MDL several times and they went back immediately after the South sent warning message,” South Korean military sources said. “It is known that they conduct the confirmation work for MDL signs around these areas.” In October 2014, soldiers from the two Koreas exchanged fires as some 20 North Korean soldiers who approached 50 meters north of MDL counterattacked against warning shots of the South.

As more and more trees get shady, the North Korean military has recently enhanced its training and reconnaissance activities near the MDL. It is analyzed that the North has been on higher alert since a military vehicle driver of an officer at a subordinate unit of Hamheung 7th Army defected to the South.

Visiting the army’s general outpost (GOP) last month, Choe Yun-hui, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the North has strategically heightened tension in forward areas, ordering the South military to fully prepare for “hit-and-run provocation.” South Korean military sources explained that the intension of the North enhancing its activities near the MDL has been analyzed in different angles. The South has also been on the higher alert in forward areas and maintained the readiness condition in times of emergency.



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