South Korea fires warning shots after North Korean soldiers cross border third time in a month
South Korean soldiers fired warning shots after North Korean troops crossed the land border for the third time this month as Pyongyang’s military treaty with Russia spiralled into a diplomatic row between the rival nations.
North Korean soldiers, who were working within the demilitarized buffer zone that separates the two Koreas, crossed into the South Korean territory on Thursday, a day after Russian president Vladimir Putin concluded his visit to Pyongyang.
The South Korean military first warned the intruders verbally followed by warning shots, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Friday.
"After our military’s warning broadcasts and warning shots, the North Korean soldiers retreated back northward," they added.
This is the third incident of intrusion after similar incidents took place on 9 and 18 June, each involving some 20 to 30 North Korean soldiers briefly crossing the demarcation line and retreating shortly after the South Koreans broadcast audio warnings and fired warning shots.
It comes as South Korea withdrew from the peaceful reunification after fresh tensions escalated over exchange of propaganda leaflets and trash-filled balloons.
On Friday, South Korea summoned the Russian ambassador to lodge a protest over the country’s new defence pact with North Korea that has further swelled concerns over leader Kim Jong-un’s regime sending weapons and munitions to Moscow.
Mr Kim and Mr Putin signed a so-called comprehensive strategic partnership agreement for immediately providing “military and other assistance” if either party is attacked. The details of the deal remain unclear but Mr Putin said they would support each other in strengthening each other’s defence capabilities. The two sides called it "strongest-ever treaty", giving a major boost to the ties of two isolated countries.
South Korean vice foreign minister Kim Hong-kyun summoned Russian ambassador Georgy Zinoviev to convey Seoul’s stance on the deal between Mr Putin and Mr Kim
The US State Department said the deal was “incredibly concerning” and “would destabilise the Korean peninsula”.
US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, held a phone call with South Korea’s foreign minister Cho Tae-yul and said the US will consider various ways to respond to the threat to international peace and stability from Russia and North Korea.
He said the treaty posed a “serious threat” to peace and stability on the Korean peninsula.
South Korean National Security Adviser Chang Ho-jin said on Thursday that Seoul will review the possibility of supplying weapons to Ukraine in response to the landmark pact.
Mr Putin reacted by saying that South Korea would be making "a big mistake" if it goes ahead with plans of arming Ukraine in the war against Russia.
“If it happens, then we will be making relevant decisions that are unlikely to please the current leadership of South Korea,” he said.
South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol said: "It’s absurd that two parties with a history of launching wars of invasion – the Korean War and the war in Ukraine – are now vowing mutual military cooperation on the premise of a preemptive attack by the international community that will never happen.”
North Korea has begun frenzied development on the border with South Korea since the peace pact that controlled escalations on the border from either side collapsed.
Latest satellite images revealed North is building what appears to be a wall in parts of the border, according to the BBC. Pictures showed that barriers have been erected in at least three sections of the border, covering about 1km of total area on the eastern end of the border.
These images appear to show at least three sections where barriers have been erected near the DMZ, covering a total of about 1km close to the eastern end of the border.
Experts have said it part of North Korea strengthening military presence and fortifications along the border.
