North Korean Deputy Chief of General Staff Issues Statement
Claims "South Korean Forces Fired Warning Shots with Machine Gun"
Calls Incident a "Dangerous Provocation Causing Military Clashes"
South Korean Military: "Response to MDL Violation"
North Korea has claimed that South Korean forces fired warning shots at its soldiers who were conducting construction work near the armistice line, and has demanded an end to what it called provocative acts.
On the 19th, during the ongoing Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) joint South Korea-US military exercises, the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the western front and the Kaesong Industrial Complex area were viewed from the border area of Paju, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Yonhap News
On August 23, Ko Jong-chol, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the North Korean Army (Lieutenant General), made this statement in a commentary titled "Dangerous Provocations That Cause Military Clashes in the Southern Border Area Must Be Stopped Immediately," which was released through the Korean Central News Agency.
Ko Jong-chol stated, "On August 19, South Korean military warmongers committed a grave act of provocation by firing over 10 warning shots with a 12.7mm heavy machine gun at our soldiers who were carrying out permanent barrier construction near the southern border."
He further explained, "Our military is conducting barrier construction along the southern border adjacent to South Korea as part of normal border reinforcement work, with the aim of permanently sealing off the southern border. This is intended to eliminate factors that escalate tensions in the militarily sensitive southern border area and to ensure a stable environment, and it poses no threat to anyone."
He claimed that, in order to prevent accidental clashes, North Korea had notified the US Forces Korea twice-on June 25 and July 18-regarding the construction work. Nevertheless, "the loudspeaker provocation broadcasts are gradually expanding to multiple South Korean military divisions, including the 3rd, 6th, 15th, and 28th divisions, and now threats such as 'we will open fire' have become routine," he asserted.
Ko Jong-chol also pointed out that South Korea fired warning shots even as the South Korea-US joint Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise was underway, calling it a "planned and intentional provocation aimed at military conflict," and demanded its immediate cessation.
He went on to warn, "If acts that restrict or interfere with construction work unrelated to military purposes continue, our military will regard this as a deliberate military provocation and will take corresponding countermeasures."
In response, a representative of the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff stated, "At around 3 p.m. on the 19th, North Korean soldiers crossed the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) on the central front, so we took measures such as issuing warning shots, after which the North Korean soldiers retreated northward. The military is closely monitoring North Korean activities in the border area."
While the South Korean military immediately notified the media when North Korean soldiers crossed south of the MDL and warning shots were fired in June last year and this past April, this time it did not make an announcement. This is interpreted as an effort to prevent further escalation of tensions between the two Koreas, given the Lee Jaemyung administration's ongoing policy of reconciliation toward North Korea.
Meanwhile, since April last year, North Korea has deployed a large number of troops near the MDL and in the northern part of the DMZ, installing triple-layered barbed wire fences and building anti-tank barriers. Observers believe this is part of an effort to turn the Military Demarcation Line into a de facto national border, in line with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's "theory of two hostile states" advocated in 2023.
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