[Anchor]
The North Korean military has been mobilizing as many as 7,000 personnel a day for its "border fortification" project, which involves planting landmines and erecting fences along the Military Demarcation Line. During this process, North Korean troops have reportedly crossed the Military Demarcation Line more than 50 times this year alone.
Reporter Park Chan-beom reports.
[Reporter]
The Joint Chiefs of Staff stated that North Korea's "border fortification" project began in April 2024 and expanded to the entire Military Demarcation Line (MDL) starting in March of last year.
According to the South Korean military, North Korean incursions across the MDL to build minefields, construct tactical roads, and install barbed-wire fences occurred 9 times in 2024 and 17 times in 2025, but have already been detected around 50 times this year, with the incursions heavily concentrated along the eastern front.
[Kim Seong-yoon / Head of Intelligence Analysis Division, Joint Chiefs of Staff: As (North Korean troops) patrol daily about 10 meters south of the MDL (on the eastern front), repeated incursions have occurred about 40 times at a single location.]
Since the start of this year, the North Korean military has deployed up to a daily maximum of 7,000 personnel along the MDL to lay minefields and install fences, and the extent of incursions across multiple sites where mines were laid south of the MDL varied by location.
[Kim Seong-yoon / Head of Intelligence Analysis Division, Joint Chiefs of Staff: Several areas where the North Korean military is presumed to have laid mines south of the MDL have been identified, encroaching an average of about 20 meters south of the MDL.]
The South Korean military expects North Korea's border fortification work, including fence installations and minefield construction, to be completed within the next two years.
A military official also noted that differing perceptions of the MDL baseline among the South Korean military, the North Korean military, and the United Nations Command present an issue, stating that "military talks are necessary to align the MDL."
Meanwhile, an audit by the Ministry of National Defense additionally confirmed cases of so-called "empty-rifle guard duty"—standing guard with unloaded firearms—at South Korean frontline units.
According to information submitted by the Ministry of National Defense's Office of the Inspector General to the office of Representative Kang Sun-young of the People Power Party, cases of "empty-rifle guard duty" were identified in the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th Corps, in addition to the previously disclosed 1st Corps.
Regarding the announcement yesterday (October 5) of the final investigation results into the DMZ landmine explosion incident, the Democratic Party urged an apology, calling it a clear violation of the Armistice Agreement by North Korea. The People Power Party criticized the government, asserting that the absence of countermeasures, such as resuming anti-Pyongyang loudspeaker broadcasts or strong military responses, has turned the South Korean military into a "vegetative military."
Camera by Oh Young-chun | Video Editing by Kim Jun-hee | Graphics by Seo Seung-hyun
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