For the third time in the last 12 days some North Korean soldiers they briefly crossed the border that separates the two Koreas still formally at war with each other. THE South Korean military they said they had fired warning shots to force unwanted guests back to the other side of the dividing line. The freshest precedent dates back to Tuesday 18 June, when between 20 and 30 soldiers of the North Korea they temporarily crossed the de facto border between the two Koreas while they were engaged in fortification work in the demilitarized zone. Already on June 9, North Korean soldiers briefly crossed the inter-Korean land border and then moved away, not before South Korean border guards fired some warning shots.
What happens between the two Koreas
Since North Korea began to fortify further its margin of Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), i.e. the fortified line that divides the two Koreas, there have been episodes of trespassing. Voluntary trespassing? The answer appears to be negative. Due to the excessive growth of foliage and of plantNorth Koreans working in this area may miss signs indicating the thin military demarcation line that divides the DMZ into its northern and southern sides, and inadvertently set foot in off-limits areas.
“Several North Korean soldiers working inside the demilitarized zone on the central front line crossed the military demarcation line. After warning broadcasts and warning shots from our military, the North Korean soldiers retreated northward“the Joint Chiefs of Staff said of the third trespass, adding the incident happened around 11am (0200 GMT) on Thursday.
Both sides of the inter-Korean border have been the scene of feverish weeks military activities, after the abandonment by the two Koreas of the agreement signed in 2018 specifically to limit tensions along the border. According to South Korean military authorities, North Korea has deployed a large number of soldiers along the border for projects aimed at making the Demilitarized Zone a “wasteland”, placing minefields and “dragon’s teeth” and strengthening outposts, observation centers and connection routes for military vehicles.
The risk of an accident
As mentioned, incidents of trespassing by North Korean soldiers are accompanied by warning shots from their South Korean counterparts.
Even if, as mentioned, the intrusions are probably linked to the large number of troops that North Korea has deployed in the front line areas to fortify the side of the border, the hypothesis of a accident which could throw the entire peninsula into chaos. What would happen, in fact, if a bullet fired from Seoul were to hit and kill a Pyongyang soldier?
In the meantime, while strange trespassings are taking place, a group of activists has claimed to have flown other balloons
with propaganda leaflets toward North Korea, continuing a campaign that has exacerbated animosities between the rivals and prompted a resurgence of Cold War-style psychological warfare along their border.
