Flash News

E-TJERA

South Korea with warning shots on the border with the North

South Korea with warning shots on the border with the North

South Korea's military fired warning shots after some North Korean soldiers crossed the border on the morning of June 20, the Seoul General Staff said. North Korean soldiers withdrew after the shooting, the South's military said. North Korean soldiers crossed the Military Demarcation Line that runs through the Demilitarized Zone on Thursday morning.

This is the third such incident this month. South Korea also fired warning shots on Tuesday after dozens of North Korean soldiers crossed the demarcation line. Although deadly clashes have occurred occasionally over the decades since open warfare between the two states ended at the end of the 1950-1953 Korean War, the latest incidents represent a rare increase in military activity near the demarcation line.

The incident comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Pyongyang this week. This was his first visit to North Korea in 24 years. Separately, Kim Yo Jong, the North's leader's sister, issued a statement condemning South Korean activists who released balloons containing pamphlets toward the North.

The release of balloons has been a source of increased tensions between the two Koreas, as the North has also released balloons filled with garbage towards the South, causing some material damage./ REL

Latest news