North Korea has accused South Korea of a “serious provocation” after South Korean troops fired warning shots earlier this week at North Korean soldiers working along the heavily fortified border.
Ko Jong Chol, vice chief of the North Korean People’s Army’s General Staff, said the incident on Tuesday coincided with ongoing South Korea-U.S. summertime military drills and alleged that Seoul was deliberately seeking to raise tensions.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed its troops fired warning shots at several North Korean soldiers who briefly crossed the military demarcation line in the central border region while conducting unspecified construction work. The North Korean soldiers withdrew without incident, and no exchange of fire followed.
In recent months, South Korea’s military has resorted to loudspeaker warnings and occasional warning shots when North Korean troops have strayed across the line while reinforcing border defenses, including building anti-tank barriers and planting land mines. Most incursions have been viewed as accidental.
Ko claimed that Tuesday’s soldiers were engaged in a “barrier project to permanently block the southern border,” part of Pyongyang’s broader plan to “completely separate” the two Koreas. He added that North Korea had previously notified U.S. forces in South Korea of its border fortification plans on June 25 and July 18 to avoid misunderstandings.
“As the commanding officer responsible for southern border management and security, I strongly demand the South immediately stop the dangerous provocation,” Ko said, accusing Seoul of using the incident to justify military escalation.
Tensions between the two Koreas remain high. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has deepened military ties with Russia, continued advancing his nuclear weapons program, and last year rewrote the country’s constitution to officially designate South Korea as a permanent enemy.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s new liberal president, Lee Jae Myung, has expressed hopes of reviving the 2018 inter-Korean military agreement to reduce border friction, urging Pyongyang to “rebuild trust and resume dialogue.” So far, North Korea has dismissed those overtures.
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