20 to 30 North Korean soldiers crossed the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) again on the morning of the 18th but retreated after the South Korean military’s warning broadcasts and warning shots.
According to the South Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff, at around 8:30 a.m. that day, North Korean troops working in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the central front line crossed the MDL by approximately 66 feet. Our military immediately gave alerts over loudspeakers and even fired warning shots, making the North Korean troops retreat.
This is the second violation following the one on the 9th. Around 12:30 p.m. on the 9th, 20 to 30 North Korean soldiers entered the zone by about 20m (65ft) and retreated due to our military’s warning shots. About 20 minutes later, four more North Korean soldiers violated the MDL again and retreated due to warning shots.
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff are treating two recent violations of the MDL by North Korean troops as minor infractions. The area where these violations occurred is heavily overgrown with bushes, obscuring the MDL markers. Military authorities believe that the North Korean troops inadvertently crossed the MDL while clearing bushes in this area and failed to see the markers.
North Korea is currently carrying out work such as creating wastelands, reinforcing tactical roads, laying mines, and installing anti-tank barriers at the border. They mobilize dozens to hundreds of people to work in various places all day. It has also been confirmed that many North Korean soldiers who were working were injured or killed in mine explosions.
As the North Korean military continued such actions near the border, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in North Korea on Tuesday night. This is Putin’s first visit to North Korea in 24 years since July 2000. It is also a return visit nine months after the North Korean-Russian summit with Kim Jong Un at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s Far East last September.
It is reported that Putin will hold a summit with Kim and pass several important documents, including the North Korean-Russian Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement while staying in North Korea until Wednesday afternoon.
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