Seoul fires warning shots after Nokor troops cross border

South Korea fired warning shots at North Korean soldiers that briefly crossed the heavily fortified border earlier this week, Seoul said Saturday after Pyongyang accused it of risking “uncontrollable” tensions.

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South Korea’s new leader Lee Jae Myung has sought warmer ties with the nuclear-armed North and vowed to build “military trust”, but Pyongyang has said it has no interest in improving relations with Seoul.

Seoul’s military said several North Korean soldiers crossed the border Tuesday while working in the heavily mined Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas.

The incursion prompted “our military to fire warning shots”, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement, adding “the North Korean soldiers then moved north” of the de facto border.

Pyongyang’s state media said earlier Saturday that the incident occurred as North Korean soldiers worked to permanently seal the frontier dividing the peninsula, citing a statement by Army Lieutenant General Ko Jong Chol.