On the 19th it is reported that North and South Korean soldiers clashed in a fire fight at the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) near the city of Paju, South Korea. The exchange lasted approximately 10 minutes. While there were no casualties on either side, military experts expressed that the conflict could have led to both sides of the DMZ to start firing artillery shells at each other. This is the first clash between the South Korean forces and the Korean People’s Army (KPA) after the naval conflict last Friday.
A spokesperson for the South Korean Ministry of Defense announced that a number of KPA guards who were patrolling the northern side of the DMZ had come too close to the MDL, which is the actual border that separates the 2 Koreas.
The spokesman reported that the South Korean guards fired several warning shots towards the KPA guards who fired back in retaliation. Before the shots were fired, they explained that South Korean troops at the General Outpost had broadcasted a message warning the KPA guards to move away from the area. The fire fight happened at around 6pm on the 19th and lasted around 10 minutes. The Ministry of Defense assured that the fight is now over.
The DMZ patrol units are all on emergency standby for any additional provocations from the North Korean military. Thankfully no South Korean soldier was killed or wounded, and it is reported that there were no fatal damage to the military or civilian facilities along the border.
Meanwhile, the North Korean government sent a message to the South that seriously criticized their military for firing rounds at their soldiers. The Ministry of Defense announced that the KPA expressed the will to continue patrolling the DMZ, and if the South Korean forces should interfere in any way they will respond with brutal force.
There have been many occasions where North and South Korean soldiers had violent clashes near the DMZ ever before the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950. Perhaps the largest incident happened in the late 1960s, when 30 North Korean special forces infiltrated the south through the DMZ in an attempt to assassinate President Choong-Hee Park. All except 1 of the KPA forces were killed and the assassination failed.
Another time in 1978, at the United Nations conference area at the DMZ, (also known as the Joint Security Area), 2 U.S. Army officers were axed to death by North Korean guards while trimming a tree. A fire fight broke out between the North and South Korean guards, and the U.S. dispatched 2 aircraft carriers ready to invade the North. North Korean dictator Kim Il-Sung officially apologized for the incident and the conflict was resolved.
Political experts have pointed our attention to the fact that North Korea has been provoking the South regularly with every approach to attempt diplomatic discussion. Many experts have expressed that North Korea is attempting to stir up confusion and conflict within South Korea with their repetitive use of both diplomacy and military violence in order to gain an upper hand in the upcoming negotiations.
