South Korean soldier fires 'by mistake' near border with DPRK: Report

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
29 Jan 2023 12:41
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Military sources say a South Korean soldier reportedly fired four live rounds at one of the observation posts in the demilitarized zone with the DPRK.

The demilitarized zone between the DPRK and South Korea

A South Korean soldier "mistakenly" opened fire during training along the border with DPRK on Saturday, prompting Seoul to inform Pyongyang that the shooting was not intentional, media reported.

The soldier reportedly fired four live rounds from a machine gun during an army unit training session at one of the observation posts in the demilitarized zone in the province of Gangwon-do at 6:27 pm Saturday (9:27 GMT), during which no firing was envisioned, South Korean news agency Yonhap claimed on Sunday, citing military sources.

The news agency said all of the bullets landed on the South Korean side of the Military Demarcation Line.

"No particular signs have been seen from the North Korean side, and an investigation is underway over the exact circumstances of the incident," an official of the unit said, as quoted by Yonhap.

In early December 2022, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the DPRK fired about 130 artillery shells from two distinct sites, one on the DPRK's east coast and one on the west coast.

According to the South's military, some of the shells landed in a "buffer zone" near the sea border in what Seoul said was a violation of a 2018 inter-Korean agreement designed to ease tensions between the two countries.

Earlier, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said he would consider suspending a 2018 agreement that created maritime buffer zones with the DPRK should Pyongyang "violate" Seoul's territory again.

Struck during a period of high-profile diplomacy at a summit in Pyongyang, the deal aimed to reduce military tensions along the heavily fortified border.

At the time, the two sides agreed to "cease various military exercises aimed at each other along the military demarcation line."

It is noteworthy that in May 2020, an exchange of fire erupted between South Korean and DPRK soldiers after at least four bullets hit a South Korean outpost in the central part of the 4-kilometer-wide (2.5-miles-wide) demilitarized zone.