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South Korean military fired warning shots Monday at soldiers from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), who were coming closer to the military demarcation line (MDL), an official at Seoul's defense ministry said.
About 10 DPRK soldiers came south near the MDL in Paju, some 40 km northwest of capital Seoul, at around 9:40 a.m. local time, the defense ministry official said by phone.
The South Korean military fired about 20 rounds of warning shots with K-2 and K-3 rifles, after issuing warning broadcastings.
The DPRK troops returned back to the north at about 1:00 p.m. without launching any return fires, the official said.
It came after South Korea's army, navy and air force kicked off the largest-ever annual joint drill earlier in the day, which will run through Nov. 21.
The exercises will mobilize about 330,000 troops, more than quadrupling around 80,000 soldiers participating in the drill last year. Also deployed will be some 23,000 mobile military equipment, 60 warships and lots of airplanes.
On Oct. 19, the two Koreas exchanged fires across the land border in Paju as about 10 DPRK soldiers approached the MDL inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ). At that time, the South Korean military launched warning shots at the DPRK troops who fired back against the South Korean guard post within the DMZ.
On Oct. 18, some other DPRK soldiers approached the MDL in Cheorwon, some 88 km northeast of Seoul, but they returned back after the warning shots. Enditem
