Belatedly, Ministry Confirms Intrusion

North Korean soldiers intruded across the military demarcation line on Sept. 19 and 20, returning north only after South Korean troops fired warning shots, the United Nations Command and the Defense Ministry said Friday.

The gunfire was the first in the Demilitarized Zone since March 1998. The failure of the Defense Ministry to promptly report the incident seemed likely to trigger more political controversy; the opposition party promptly issued a demand for Defense Minister Kim Dong-shin to step down.

The belated acknowledgement of the incident came after it was disclosed Friday by the Dong-a Ilbo newspaper.

The command and the ministry said that at about 1 p.m. on Sept. 19, about 20 North Korean soldiers moved 40 meters south of the military demarcation line near Cheorwon, Kangwon province. South Korean guards fired nine warning shots before the North Korean soldiers retreated.

At 9 a.m. the next day, a dozen North Korean soldiers moved 30 meters south of the demarcation line near Goseong, Kangwon province. They lingered about a minute, returning after southern troops blared warnings over loudspeakers and fired five warning shots.

The incursions took place immediately after the four-day inter-Korean ministerial meeting in Seoul. A senior Defense Ministry official cited political reasons for not publicizing the intrusion. "The ministerial dialogue had ended amicably, and reunions of Korean families and talks on the overland route to Mount Kumgang are pending," the official said on condition of anonymity.

A North Korean loudspeaker message along the DMZ warned of "a high price" to be paid for interfering with routine northern military operations. North Korea also refused a United Nations Command's proposal that the two sides meet Sept. 22 to discuss the incident.

by Kim Min-seok