"Where Are the Bullets?" Frontline Guard Duty With Unloaded Guns... Joint Chiefs Unaware

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 GPs and GOPs without ammunition belts loaded into the weapons.

Amid growing concerns that this could diminish immediate response capabilities in the event of an emergency, the Joint Chiefs of Staff stated that they 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, discontinuing the practice of keeping the K6 heavy machine guns loaded with ammunition belts, known as being in a "loaded" state, and instead only placing ammunition boxes containing live rounds next to the firearms.

The K6 heavy machine gun is a key 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 already attached to the machine gun in a loaded state, but under the revised guidelines, firing would only be possible after taking an ammunition belt out of the ammunition 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 Army's 1st Corps, which defends the Imjin River estuary area and the northern outskirts of Seoul, is considered a core corps within the military due to its importance in defending the capital.

The 1st Corps reportedly has not disclosed the reason for changing the guidelines.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff stated that they had neither received prior reports nor approved the 1st Corps' guideline change, adding that they became aware of the matter through media inquiries.

Inside and outside the military, speculation suggests that an accidental discharge of a K6 heavy machine gun at a GOP in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, last year 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 broadcasted the fact of the accidental discharge to the North immediately after the situation occurred, and no unusual movements by the North Korean military were reported.

Regarding this guideline change, some voices are raising concerns that the frontline readiness posture could be weakened.

Last year in August, when North Korean soldiers engaged in border-fortification work near the inter-Korean border 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 Joint Chiefs of Staff have reportedly initiated an investigation into the overall guard operation guidelines of frontline corps and are 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
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.