It has been reported that the Army's 1st Corps, which guards the frontline, has been conducting guard duty with K6 heavy machine guns deployed at Guard Posts (GPs) and General Outposts (GOPs) without ammunition belts attached.
Amid growing concerns that this could diminish immediate response capabilities in the event of an emergency, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) stated that it had neither been reported on nor approved the change in relevant guidelines in advance.
According to the Army and other sources, the Army's 1st Corps reportedly changed its guard duty guidelines starting in the first half of this year so that K6 heavy machine guns no longer maintain a loaded state with ammunition belts attached, but instead keep only ammunition boxes containing live rounds placed beside the firearms.
The K6 heavy machine gun is a representative crew-served weapon of our military deployed to respond to emergencies such as North Korean provocations or infiltrations.
Previously, the standard procedure was to stand guard with an ammunition belt pre-attached to the machine gun, but under the revised guidelines, firing becomes possible only after retrieving the ammunition belt from the box and connecting it to the machine gun when a situation arises.
It is known that only the Army's 1st Corps has changed its guidelines. Facing North Korean forces, the 1st Corps defends the Imjin River estuary area and the northern outskirts of Seoul, and is considered a core corps within the military due to its critical importance to capital defense.
The 1st Corps reportedly has not disclosed the reasons for changing the guidelines.
The JCS stated that it had neither received prior reports nor approved the 1st Corps' guideline change, adding that it became aware of the matter through media inquiries.
Inside and outside the military, speculation suggests that last year's accidental discharge of a K6 heavy machine gun at a GOP in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, may have influenced the background behind the guideline change.
At the time, a single live round was accidentally fired toward the North during a firearm inspection. The unit immediately broadcasted the accidental discharge to the North upon occurrence, and no unusual movements by the North Korean military were reported.
Regarding this guideline change, some concerns are rising that the frontline defense posture could be weakened.
Last year in August, when North Korean soldiers carrying out "border-formalization" work in the inter-Korean border region crossed the Military Demarcation Line in the central frontline area and moved south, it was also the K6 heavy machine gun that our military used for warning shots.
The JCS has reportedly initiated an investigation into the overall guard operation guidelines of frontline corps and is verifying whether the 1st Corps' guideline change was appropriate.
Reported by Kim Minjeong | Video by Choi Gang-san | Graphics by Lee Jeong-ju | Produced by SBS Digital News
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.