Missile launches and a dispute over a landmine incident have heightened tensions between the two Koreas. Seoul is seeking military talks to prevent accidental clashes, but Pyongyang has yet to respond.
North Korea fired around a dozen short-range ballistic missiles towards the sea on Thursday, South Korea’s military said, a day after Seoul renewed its call for talks to prevent accidental clashes along their heavily fortified border.
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The missiles were launched from the eastern coastal area of Wonsan at about 12.30pm local time and travelled around 250 kilometres, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.
South Korea said it had stepped up surveillance for further launches and was sharing information with the United States and Japan.
Seoul proposed military talks on 23 October to jointly verify the location of the Military Demarcation Line, which separates the two Koreas, restore military communication lines and agree measures to prevent accidental clashes.
Unification Minister Chung Dong-young renewed the appeal on Wednesday in an address read on his behalf at a forum in Goyang, near Seoul.
“South and North Korea should align their positions on the MDL through dialogue,” Chung said, calling for communication channels to be restored so the area could be managed peacefully.
North Korea has not responded to the talks proposal.
Mine blasts deepen border tensions
The offer follows landmine explosions in the Demilitarised Zone on 21 September that injured three South Korean soldiers, two of them seriously.
Seoul accused North Korean troops of planting the mines south of the demarcation line. North Korea denied responsibility and accused the South of fabricating the incident in a letter to the UN Security Council.
The US-led United Nations Command, which oversees the armistice, said a joint investigation with South Korea had identified an active North Korean mine south of the line and determined that an armistice violation had occurred.
North Korean troops have been reinforcing the border with roads, fences and landmines. South Korea says they have repeatedly crossed the demarcation line during the work, prompting warning broadcasts and warning shots.
Seoul says differing interpretations of the boundary could lead to accidental clashes. Many of the markers installed under the 1953 armistice have deteriorated or disappeared, with only about 200 of the original 1,292 still identifiable, according to Yonhap.
Direct military communication between the two Koreas remains suspended, although the command maintains a separate channel with the North Korean military.