North Korea accused South Korea of a “serious provocation” on Saturday after South Korean troops fired warning shots at North Korean soldiers setting up barriers along their tense border, msn reports.
Ko Jong Chol, vice chief of the North Korean People’s Army’s General Staff, noted that Tuesday’s warning shots coincided with the South Korea-U.S. summertime military drills and accused Seoul of deliberately trying to raise tensions.
In recent months, South Korea's military has occasionally used loudspeaker warnings and fired warning shots to repel North Korean soldiers crossing the military demarcation line. The incidents were largely seen as accidental as North Korean troops build anti-tank barriers, plant mines and carry out other work to reinforce border defences amid heightened tensions.
Ko said the North Korean soldiers were conducting a “barrier project to permanently block the southern border,” as part of broader efforts of “completely separating” the territory between the Koreas, when the South responded with an audio warning and warning shots. Ko said the North had informed U.S. forces in the South of their plans for the border work on June 25 and July 18 to prevent accidental clashes.
