SEOUL, South Korea (AP) 鈥 South Korea's military fired warning shots after North Korean soldiers crossed the rivals' tense border on Tuesday, South Korean officials said, the first known border intrusion by North Korea in nearly a year.
Violent confrontations and bloodshed have occasionally happened at the Koreas鈥 heavily fortified border, called the But Tuesday's incident won't likely escalate, as it didn't cause any casualties on either side and North Korea hasn't returned fire.
About 10 North Korean soldiers 鈥 some carrying weapons 鈥 violated the military demarcation line at the eastern section of the DMZ at 5 p.m. They returned to North Korea after South Korea broadcast warnings and fired warning shots, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
South Korea鈥檚 military said it is closely monitoring North Korean activities. It said North Korea didn't return fire.
In June last year, , prompting South Korea to fire warning shots. The incidents occurred when the Koreas were embroiled in Cold War-style campaigns like and , but they didn't develop into a major source of tensions.
South Korea's military assessed at the time that the didn鈥檛 deliberately commit the border intrusion and the site was a wooded area where military demarcation line signs weren鈥檛 clearly visible. Observers said the North Korean soldiers might have accidently crossed the border while adding anti-tank barriers, planting mines or engaging in other works to boost border defenses.
The motive for Tuesday's border crossing by North Korean soldiers wasn't immediately clear.
South Korea's military said in late March that North Korea was resuming front-line works such as reinforcing barbed wire fences. South Korean media, citing the military, reported that North Korean soldiers might have unintentionally intruded into South Korea's territory on Tuesday during a patrol mission ahead of unspecified front-line works.
In October, North Korea said it would at the border to cope with 鈥渃onfrontational hysteria鈥 by South Korean and U.S. forces. That was seen as an effort to beef up its front-line security posture and prevent its soldiers and citizens from defecting to South Korea.
The 248-kilometer (155-mile) -long, 4-kilometer (2.5-mile) -wide is one of the world鈥檚 most heavily armed borders. An estimated 2 million mines are peppered inside and near the border, which is also guarded by barbed wire fences, tank traps and combat troops on both sides. It鈥檚 a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.
Animosities between the Koreas are running high now as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un continues to flaunt his military nuclear capabilities and align with Russia over President Vladimir Kim is also ignoring calls by Seoul and Washington to resume denuclearization negotiations.
Since his Jan. 20 inauguration, U.S. President Donald Trump again to revive diplomacy. North Korea has not responded to Trump鈥檚 remarks and says U.S. hostilities against it have deepened since Trump鈥檚 inauguration. Experts say Kim could eventually return to talks with Trump, hoping that his advancing nuclear program would help North Korea win greater U.S. concessions.
South Korea, meanwhile, is experiencing a leadership vacuum after the ouster of President last week over his ill-fated imposition of martial law. Yoon's push to expand military drills with the U.S. had infuriated North Korea. __
Associated Press writer Kim Tong-hyung contributed to this report.
