South Korean military believes North's troops 'accidentally' crossed border Sunday

The demilitarized zone as seen from Paju, Gyeonggi, on Friday. [NEWS1]

North Korean troops briefly crossed the military demarcation line (MDL) Sunday and retreated after the South Korean military fired warning shots, the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Tuesday.

South Korean military authorities believe the incursion was accidental and occurred after the North Koreans became lost in rough terrain.

“Some North Korean soldiers working within the demilitarized zone (DMZ) on the central front crossed the MDL at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, and headed north after our military’s issued a warning broadcast and fired warning shots,” the JCS said in a notice to reporters. “Our military is closely monitoring the movements of the North Korean troops and taking necessary measures in accordance with operational procedures.”

JCS spokesperson Col. Lee Sung-jun said the North Korean troops’ crossing of the MDL seemed unintentional, considering that the area is currently overgrown with grass and bushes, hindering navigation, and that the troops returned immediately after the warning shots were fired.

“They were moving through bushes where there was no path, and we were observing them even before they approached the MDL,” Lee said in a regular JCS briefing.

He said the JCS believes the North Korean troops committed a “simple mistake” while they were moving for an assignment.

Lee added that although some of the 20 to 30 North Korean troops who crossed the line were armed, most carried work tools such as pickaxes.

“North Korean soldiers crossed the MDL within 50 meters for a short period and immediately returned north of the line when warning shots were fired,” the JCS said in its notice. “It is presumed that the North Korean soldiers, who were working with tools, lost their way and crossed the MDL.”

Meanwhile, South Korea resumed loudspeaker broadcasts directed towards North Korea on Sunday in response to Pyongyang’s launch of trash-laden balloons across the border. North Korea has sent more than 1,600 balloons carrying garbage into South Korea since May 28, in response to anti-Pyongyang leaflets by South Korean activists. The JCS reported that the balloons carried trash like plastic and waste paper. Analysis has yet to detect hazardous substances.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Tuesday that it would begin accepting damages claims from residents affected by the balloon launches. The city plans to pay compensation from its reserve funds.

The South Korean government is also considering legal measures to compensate people who have been affected by the North Korean balloons, as current laws lack a legal basis for compensation.

The JCS said Monday it observed moves by the North to install anti-South loudspeakers along the inter-Korean border in response to the resumption of broadcasts from the South.

One of the most heavily guarded zones in the world, the DMZ is enclosed by barbed wire fences and features a sizable military presence on both sides.

The MDL runs through the middle of the DMZ, which has functioned as a buffer zone between the two Koreas ever since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]