N. Korea: Warning shots fired at Korea border(60 rounds fired)

Reuters ^ | 10/07/06

[TigerLikesRooster]

Warning shots fired at Korea border

32 minutes ago

South Korean troops fired warning shots on Saturday after five North Korean soldiers briefly crossed into the southern side of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) dividing the two, South Korea's joint chiefs of staff said.

The skirmish comes amid rising tension on the peninsula after Pyongyang said on Tuesday it planned to conduct a nuclear test.

"Our troops fired warning shots at the five North Korean soldiers after they climbed over the military demarcation line despite several loudspeaker warnings," the military command said in a statement.

It said they went about 30 metres (yards) across the line at around 0415 GMT and returned after the shots were fired.

An officer at the Joint Chiefs office told Reuters that the South had fired about 60 rounds. He said that only one of the five North Koreans was armed, the soldier did not fire back and no injuries were reported.

"We don't know what their intentions were," the officer said.

In late May, two North Koreans crossed the military line but also retreated after South Korean guards fired warning shots.

The two Koreas remain technically at war, more than half a century after the inconclusive truce which halted the 1950-53 Korean conflict.

[TigerLikesRooster]

According to local reports, 14 rounds were fired at first, but N. Koreans refused to turn back, then 15 more rounds, still no effect, finally 30 rounds were fired, and N. Korean soldiers did turn back(I don't know where the one missing bullet go. It did say 60, but they only add up to 59.:))

It seemed a deliberate provocation. If any of N. Korean soldiers were hit, it would have been a good propaganda material.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Ping!

[shaggy eel]

the South had fired about 60 rounds

,,, light fire? Why not hit them with a nuke?

[TigerLikesRooster]

This is part of N. Korean style stage-managing of crisis.

Psych up population and soldiers. Talk of impending life-or-death showdown. Military provocation here and there. Cut off all contact with the outside. And they drop the big one, the main event.

[Southack]

Were they trying to defect?!

[TigerLikesRooster]

Re #5

I don't think so. If they did, they would loudly shout their intention, when the warning broadcast was out.

Besides, if they tried border crossing unauthorized by their superiors, they would be in deep trouble. They have no reason to go back in such a situation.

[Gradient Vector]

"This is part of N. Korean style stage-managing of crisis.

Psych up population and soldiers. Talk of impending life-or-death showdown. Military provocation here and there. Cut off all contact with the outside. And they drop the big one, the main event."

You were right up until the last part. They whip their people up against the enemy but never actually fight because they know they'll lose. Ever read 1984? Oceania was always at war but they were always fighting small useless battles. The state of war was just a good propaganda excuse to do what they wished. North Korea is what Oceania would look like.

I can't believe how long that cease fire has held. My grandfather fought in Korea.

[Noli MeTangere]

Why not hit them with a nuke?

According to the terms of the armistice (1953), nuclear weapons are banned from the Korean Peninsula.

[M. Espinola]

The Axis of Evil is creating geostrategic tension in as many places as possible.

[LegendHasIt]

Probably just looking for something to eat.

[Noli MeTangere]

This is part of N. Korean style stage-managing of crisis.

Has been occurring for over 50 years.

Although the DMZ is supposed to be a "no man's land," both sides routinely send in patrols. When they bump into each other, there's usually an exchange of gunfire, occasionally resulting in casualties.

I was with a team working along the DMZ and experienced two of these incidents -- 11/62 and 4/63 -- neither resulted in any casualties -- at least on our side.

[Brad from Tennessee]

Or planning on siphoning some gas. I read somewhere that North Korea would have trouble putting together enough fuel for an invasion.

[operation clinton cleanup]

Weird things happen on the DMZ.

The Axe Murder Incident was the killing of two United States Army officers by North Korean soldiers on August 18, 1976 in the Joint Security Area (JSA) located in the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) which forms the de facto border between North and South Korea. The killings and the response (Operation Paul Bunyan) heightened tensions between North Korea and the United States of America / South Korea.

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Maybe they were just ronery...

[dirtbiker]

I can't believe how long that cease fire has held. My grandfather fought in Korea.

So did my Dad, from 1952-53...

[TigerLikesRooster]

Re #7

This time, the big one is a nuclear test, not all-out war.I do not think that they announced the whole world that it will conduct a nuclear test and back down, unless U.S. capitulates big time.

[Caipirabob]

It seemed a deliberate provocation. If any of N. Korean soldiers were hit, it would have been a good propaganda material.

Agree with your assessment.

Still, part of me can't help but grin and think that maybe they were just trying to "get the hell out of Dodge!"

[TheBattman]

I still don't understand why they fire warning shots at all. They had to climb over a dad-gum barrier that is clearly marked. They refused warnings over a PA - They should have been shot.

[Caipirabob]

Mine, too. Received a field commission when they needed someone to build a bridge. My dad got his first real, practical business advice in his early 20's. One of the youngest Lts at his level. The Colonel said "Son, if I come here and you're going nuts and everyone's sitting around doing nothing, that's not managing. Now if I come here and your sitting on your ass and everyone else is going crazy AND I see a bridge, that's managing."

My dad found the right people who knew what to do and delegated to them to organize the work force and he handled any major problems. Bridge built. It was an experience that lead to him becomming a CEO at some major companies over a career of some 35 years.

[Van Jenerette]

Typical North Korean Strategy. The DMZ has always been the the North Korean's 'stage' for world wide attention.

From late 1966 through 1969, the Korean peninsula provided the background for a military confrontation that included guerrilla warfare, sabotage and terrorism directed against the people of South Korea and the Americans serving there. The situation tested the willpower and reserve of the Unified States and the Republic of Korea (ROK)). This article relates some of the circumstances of a significant victory and of the combat fought along the forgotten demilitarized zone (DMZ) of Korea.

The Forgotten DMZ Military Review - Published by US Army Command and General Staff College Volume LXVIII - May 1988 - No 5 pp 32-43

Katherine & Van

Katherine Jenerette for Senate