World's 'most dangerous' border where 'warning shots' are fired at daring army officials
The North Korean dictator has infuriated Seoul by sending hundreds of balloons carrying cigarette butts, manure and toilet paper to his southern neighbour.
Fears of an armed conflict between North and South Korea are growing, after a shooting incident at the border between the two countries. Relations between Pyongyang and Seoul have become increasingly strained in recent days on account of provocative actions by Kim Jong un's regime.
The North Korean dictator has infuriated Seoul by sending hundreds of balloons carrying cigarette butts, manure and toilet paper to his southern neighbour.
Kim said this was in retaliation for balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang propaganda sent by activists in the South. On Sunday South Korea's army spotted an incursion by Kim's soldiers into their territory.
Military guards fired warning shots to deter the North Koreans, who subsequently retreated.
“Some North Korean soldiers working within the DMZ on the central front briefly crossed the Military Demarcation Line,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff [JCS] said in a statement on Tuesday.
“After our military issued warning broadcasts and warning shots, they retreated northward." South Korean military officials said they believed Kim's soldiers had accidentally crossed over the border, having become disorientated in the densely wooded area.
The Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) is a strip of land running across Peninsula that serves as a buffer zone between North and South Korea.
It is one of the most heavily guarded stretches of land in the world and is littered with scores of mines and barbed-wire fences.
The DMZ incorporates territory on both sides of the cease-fire line as it existed at the end of the Korean War (1950-1953). It was created by pulling back the respective forces 1.2 miles along each side of the line.
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Upon the creation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK, also known as North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (ROK, or South Korea) in 1948, the DMZ became a de facto international border and one of the tensest fronts in the Cold War.
The DMZ is about 160 miles long and approximately 2.5 miles wide. The South Korean government fully suspended a 2018 military deal this month and restarted loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts along the border in response to the rubbish-laden balloons.
Pyongyang reacted with fury to the move, warning Seoul it was creating a "new crisis".
