Military formally proposes talks with North Korea about repeated MDL violations

South Korea’s military has formally proposed talks with North Korea to address repeated violations of the military demarcation line (MDL) inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) on Monday — the first such offer under the Lee Jae Myung administration.

A quiet stretch of the demilitarized zone by the western front is seen from Paju, South Korea, on May 2, showing barriers North Korea installed along the road of the Gyeongui railway line. [YONHAP]

South Korea’s military has formally proposed talks with North Korea to address repeated violations of the military demarcation line (MDL) inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) on Monday — the first such offer under the Lee Jae Myung administration.

Kim Hong-chul, the director general for national defense policy at the Ministry of National Defense, said in a statement that North Korean soldiers have “repeatedly crossed south of the MDL and entered our area” while constructing tactical roads, installing fences and planting mines near the MDL.

“Our military has issued warnings and conducted warning shots in accordance with our operational procedures, prompting the North Korean troops to withdraw back north of the MDL,” Kim said.

Kim added that continued MDL crossings by North Korean soldiers — and the South’s required responses — have heightened tensions in the DMZ, raising concerns that the situation could escalate into an inter-Korean military clash.

Inter-Korean military talks have not been held for more than seven years since the tenth round of general-level meetings in October 2018.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom. BY SHIN HYE-YEON [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]