Category: DMZ

Here is just another example of the fantasy land narrative in North Korea:

On Thursday, the anniversary of the incident, the Korean People’s Army Panmunjom Mission spokesman said that North Korea will “never forget the Panmunjom incident, which took place intentionally under U.S. imperialists looking for an excuse to start a war of invasion while permanently occupying the South.”

North Korea stated the U.S. version of the incident was a “cunning stratagem” to find a way out of its responsibility for the event, adding that the incident is a “serious lesson in history.”

“Only death lies for aggressors and provokers,” North Korea said in the statement issued on KCNA.

According to Pyongyang, the incident involved U.S. forces “pushing forward” South Korean “puppet guards” who “screamed in the direction of [North Korean] soldiers” then assumed “combat-ready positions.”

The South Korea and U.S. forces then brought in “heavy weaponry” and installed a “large surveillance tower.” Their “perilous military provocations tell all,” North Korea stated.  [UPI]

You can read more at the link as well as more about the DMZ Axe Murder Incident at the below link:

• DMZ Flashpoints: The 1976 DMZ Axe Murder Incident

This is actually a pretty good idea which also makes me wonder if it can also help deter North Korean submarine activity as well in the area?:

North Korea on Monday condemned the artificial reef structures being placed in the West Sea by South Korea to control Chinese illegal fishing activities, calling it part of Seoul’s military provocations against Pyongyang’s maritime demarcation line.

In March, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) said it will set up a total of eight artificial reef structures in the eastern waters off Baengnyeongdo, Daecheongdo and Socheongdo, all located south of the northern limit line (NLL), to prevent Chinese fishing vessels from intruding into the South Korean waters.

Drawn by the U.S.-led United Nations Command at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, the NLL is the de facto sea border between the two Koreas, although the North has not recognized it as such.

According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the West Sea Fleet of the Navy of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) said South Korea’s new artificial structures can only be seen a encroachments on its waters.

“The fish-breeding reef, structure weighing dozens of tons, is being set up in the sensitive waters which witnessed three skirmishes in the past, a fact clearly showing the provocative nature,” KCNA said.

Such provocative acts have revealed Seoul’s “sinister intention” to spark a military conflict in the world’s most dangerous waters, the North’s state-run media outlet claimed.  [Yonhap]

A group of foreigners who participated in a South Korea-ASEAN tourism workshop in Seoul visits the “Eco-Peace Park” near the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas in Cherwon, located some 88 kilometers north of Seoul, on June 12, 2016. ASEAN stands for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The Seoul-based ASEAN-Korea Center provided this photo. (Yonhap)

This will definitely be a unique ultra-marathon for those who decide to run it:

A 100-kilometer (62 mile) long ultra-marathon near the demilitarized zone, which divides the South and North, will be hosted over the course of three days in early September, announced the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Tuesday.

The marathon will take place in the far northern part of Gyeonggi – Gimpo, Paju and Yeonchon District – from Sept. 1 to Sept. 4.

The sports event was organized to publicize the history, culture and ecological diversity of the demilitarized zone as well as deliver a message about peace and the importance of life to race participants.

Over 80 percent of the marathon’s trails are unpaved roads, and runners will have to run through mountainous environs and meadows. As many as 1,700 runners will participate in the race, and the course will be divided into two parts – one for foreign and domestic professional runners and another for amateur runners.   [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link.

Over at The DMZ War there is a very interesting document posted that is a transcript of a 1976 phone conversation between Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft. Kissinger and Scowcroft talk about a lot of interesting things in regards to the US response to the killing of two US Army officers during the DMZ Axe Murder Incident. For example Kissinger believed that the North Korean barracks inside of the Joint Security Area (JSA) should have been bombed.  Something else I did not know was that the two officers killed in the attack had their bodies shipped home in coffins made from the wood of the tree that was chopped down:

You can read the rest of the transcript at this link.

The US soldiers stationed at the Joint Security Area on the DMZ are specifically trained to be very professional when interacting with the North Koreans that is why I have a hard time believing the North Koreans.  Considering all the video cameras at the JSA you would think the North Koreans would have released video footage of their claimed infractions:

The American-led U.N. command on Saturday dismissed as unsubstantiated accusations from North Korea that U.S. troops at a border village tried to provoke its frontline troops with “disgusting acts.”

 

A North Korean military statement Friday warned U.S. soldiers to stop what it called “hooliganism” at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom or they’ll meet a “dog’s death any time and any place.”

 

It said U.S. troops pointed their fingers at North Korean soldiers and made strange noises and unspecified “disgusting” facial expressions. It also said that American troops encouraged South Korean soldiers to aim their guns at the North.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read the rest at the link.

Fortunately this accidental discharge did not turn into a larger incident with North Korea:

A South Korean machine gun was recently accidentally discharged toward North Korea, the military in Seoul said Tuesday, though it remained unclear where the shots had landed.

A South Korean military official said two shots from a K-6 heavy machine gun were accidentally fired from a guard post (GP) inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the eastern front on Sunday. The official said the misfire happened during maintenance, but no injuries were reported.

On three occasions, South Korea broadcast messages to North Korea that the shots had been accidentally fired.

“The North Korean military didn’t respond to our messages and didn’t show any particular movement,” the South Korean official added. “We don’t believe the shots reached their GP.”  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

The UK’s Guardian has an article published that describes what life is like for ROK Army soldiers tasked with patrolling the DMZ:

Because the border is supposed to be a “demilitarised zone”, it takes some creative accounting to allow the soldiers to be posted there.

“All of the rangers are given a chest patch that says ‘DMZ police’ and an armband that says ‘military police,’” Shin said. “As as long as we wear the armband before entering the DMZ, no matter how armed we are, we are nothing but the ‘armed police’ not the armed ‘military’ force.”

It’s a posting that comes with many hazards, not just North Korean ones. Instead of four seasons there are just three at the DMZ: “the steaming summer, cold winter and the ice age when everything freezes,” he said.

Shin and his fellow soldiers had to endure temperatures that dropped below -19C (-2.2F), with endless, biting winds blowing in from the North.

“The wind was so strong it could literally blow you around,” said Shin. “Most general outposts are on the top of the mountain, directly facing the wind.”  [The Guardian]

You can read more at the link.

Via a reader tip comes news that North Korea flew a drone across the DMZ that the ROK military took shots at:

South Korea on Wednesday fired 20 machine gun warning shots after a North Korean drone briefly crossed the rivals’ border, officials said, the first shots fired in a Cold War-style standoff between the Koreas in the wake of the North’s nuclear test last week.

The North Korean drone was flying dozens of meters (yards) south of the border and turned back to the North after the South fired the shots, South Korean defense and military officials said, requesting anonymity because of office rules. The shots did not hit the drone.

North Korean drone flights across the world’s most heavily armed border are rare, but have happened before.

North Korea has in recent years touted its drone program, a relatively new addition to its arsenal. In 2013, state media said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had watched a drone attack drill on a simulated South Korean target.  [Associated Press]

You can read more at the link.

A leg-shaped sculpture is seen at a park in Imjingak near the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas on Dec. 23, 2013, as the Army holds an event to unveil the structure symbolizing the legs that the two soldiers — Ssg. Kim Jung-won and Ssg. Hah Jae-hun — lost in a landmine blast blamed on North Korea in August. At the event, the two soldiers were awarded national orders for their “bravery and contributions” to national security. Kim is walking again with a prosthetic leg while Ha, who lost both legs, is continuing his rehabilitation. (Yonhap)