New invasion of South Korean soldiers by North Korean soldiers

Hours before Vladimir Putin arrived in Pyongyang, dozens of North Korean soldiers crossed the border into South Korea and then retreated under warning shots from the South Korean army, the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul said.

In another incident, several North Korean soldiers were injured when mines exploded while working near the border, the same source said.

According to a representative of the General Staff, these soldiers carried out mine clearance and mine clearance work on the border, but “suffered numerous casualties as a result of repeated mine explosions during their work.” Despite this, the North’s military “appears to be reckless in continuing its operations,” the official added.

For months, North Korea has been working to dismantle the roads and railways that linked it to the south when relations between the two countries were better.

North Korea’s military is also strengthening fortifications on its side of the border, laying mines, building new anti-tank barriers and clearing large areas, according to a South Korean general staff spokesman.

Second time in less than two weeks

“North Korea’s actions appear to be a measure aimed at strengthening internal controls, including preventing North Korean troops and North Koreans from crossing into the South,” a spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

It is the second time in less than two weeks that North Korean soldiers have crossed the inter-Korean demarcation line separating the two countries, which are technically still at war.

On June 9, several soldiers from the north briefly entered South Korean territory and retreated after sound warnings and warning shots were fired by soldiers from the south.

The two Koreas are separated by a 4 km wide demilitarized zone (DMZ). The dividing line is in the middle.

The North and South Korean sides of the demilitarized zone are heavily fortified, but the demarcation line itself, located in the center of this mined zone, is marked only with simple signs.

Relations between North and South are currently experiencing one of the most tense periods in recent years. Technically, the two countries remain at war, a conflict that confronted them from 1950 to 1953 ending in a truce rather than a peace treaty. In recent weeks, Pyongyang has sent hundreds of balloons loaded with trash such as cigarette butts, toilet paper and even animal excrement to South Korea.

North Korea intended to respond to associations sending defectors to the North, including in balloons, leaflets hostile to leader Kim Jong Un and his family, small denomination dollars and USB keys with K-pop and South Korean TV series. Seoul cannot legally prevent these supplies.

The North and South have also installed loudspeakers near the border with the aim of resuming audio propaganda broadcasts, suspended since 2018.

support for Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday assured North Korea of ​​his country’s “unwavering support” in the fight against a “cunning, dangerous and aggressive enemy” hours before he arrived in Pyongyang for a two-day exclusive visit. This is only the second visit to North Korea by the Russian leader, who last visited North Korea nearly a quarter of a century ago, shortly after taking power, to meet with Kim Jong Un’s father, Kim Jong Il.

“Russia supported North Korea and its heroic people in their struggle for the right to choose for themselves the path of independence, identity and development in confrontation with a cunning, dangerous and aggressive enemy, yesterday and tomorrow, and will unwaveringly support them in the future,” Vladimir Putin wrote in an article published by the official North Korean newspaper Rodong Sinmun and the KCNA news agency.

He also said Pyongyang “firmly supports” the Russian military offensive in Ukraine and thanked it.

Americans and Europeans have been concerned for months about the accelerating rapprochement between Moscow and Pyongyang, accusing North Korea of ​​supplying Russia with ammunition for its attack on Ukraine in exchange for technological, diplomatic and food aid.

Vladimir Putin’s diplomatic adviser Yuri Ushakov told Russian media that “important, very significant documents” will be signed, referring to the “possible conclusion of an agreement on a comprehensive strategic partnership.” “This agreement, if it is signed, will, of course, be conditioned by the profound development of the geopolitical situation in the world and the region and the qualitative changes that have recently occurred in our bilateral relations,” he said. .

The master of the Kremlin is accompanied by the head of his diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, and Defense Minister Andrei Belousov. This trip to North Korea comes nine months after Vladimir Putin welcomed Kim Jong Un to the Russian Far East, a visit during which the two men heaped each other with praise but no conclusions, at least officially.