North Korea Orders Border Troops to Act as Seoul Cites 50 DMZ Crossings
Updated
Updated · CNN · Oct 21
North Korea Orders Border Troops to Act as Seoul Cites 50 DMZ Crossings
3 articles · Updated · CNN · Oct 21
Summary
KCNA said North Korea ordered border troops to take “prompt and resolute action” if South Korean forces threaten their safety, heightening the risk of a clash along the heavily armed frontier.
Tuesday’s order followed Seoul’s vow a day earlier to punish any further provocation “resolutely” if Pyongyang carries out threats to bolster its military posture along the border.
Pak Jong Chon inspected border fortifications with Kim Yo Jong, who said new firepower units had already taken firing positions, while Pak rejected South Korean claims of repeated incursions as “absurd.”
Since April 2024, tensions have climbed as Pyongyang fortified the border; Seoul says up to 7,000 workers were sent there this year and about 50 crossings of the Military Demarcation Line occurred.
The standoff centers on the Demilitarized Zone created by the 1953 armistice, where South Korea says North Korean mines seriously wounded two of its soldiers in a blast last month.