Pyongyang claims South Koreaโs army fired more than 10 warning shots from a machinegun towards North Korean troops.
North Korea has accused South Korean forces of firing warning shots earlier this week at its soldiers who were part of a border reinforcement project, cautioning Seoul that its actions risked raising tensions to โuncontrollableโ levels.
In a report published on Saturday, Pyongyangโs official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) quoted the North โs Korean Peopleโs Army Vice Chief of the General Staff Ko Jong Chol as saying that the South should stop its โpremeditated and deliberateโ provocation, which he described as โinciting military conflictโ.
Calling the incident a โserious provocationโ, Ko said the South Korean military fired more than 10 warning shots towards North Korean troops.
โThis is a very serious prelude that would inevitably drive the situation in the southern border area, where a huge number of forces are stationing, in confrontation with each other, to the uncontrollable phase,โ Ko said.
The incident took place on Tuesday as North Korean soldiers were working to permanently seal the heavily fortified border that divides the peninsula, state media outlet KCNA said, citing a statement from Ko.
South Korea did not immediately comment on the reported encounter, and the countryโs official news agency, Yonhap, reported that it had no immediate confirmation from officials in Seoul on Pyongyangโs claim.
The reported firing of warning shots is only the latest confrontation between North and South Korean forces, which have been at odds for decades over the heavily guarded border that divides both nations.
The last border clash between the archrivals was in early April when South Koreaโs military fired warning shots after a group of 10 North Korean soldiers briefly crossed the border.
Those troops were spotted in the Demilitarized Zone between the two countries, parts of which are heavily mined and overgrown.
In more recent months, South Korea has been taking steps to ease border tensions following the election of President Lee Jae-myung in June.
โCorresponding countermeasureโ
North Koreaโs army announced last October that it was moving to totally shut off the southern border, saying it had sent a telephone message to United States forces based in South Korea to โprevent any misjudgement and accidental conflictโ.
Shortly after its announcement, it blew up sections of the unused but deeply symbolic cross-border roads and railway tracks that had once connected the North and South.
Ko, in the statement published by state media, warned that North Koreaโs army would retaliate to any interference with its efforts to permanently seal the border.
โIf the act of restraining or obstructing the project unrelated to the military character persists, our army will regard it as deliberate military provocation and take corresponding countermeasure,โ he said.
Last year, North Korea sent thousands of rubbish-carrying balloons southwards, saying they were retaliation for anti-North Korean propaganda balloons sent by South Korean activists.
Later, Seoul turned on border loudspeaker broadcasts for the first time in six years, which included K-pop tunes and international news. Pyongyang responded by blaring strange sounds along the frontier, unsettling South Korean residents.
Seoul has since turned off the loudspeaker broadcasts following orders from newly elected President Lee.
