"Where Are the Bullets?" Frontline Guards Operating Without Ammunition in Guns; JCS Left in the Dark

Reports have emerged that the South Korean Army's 1st Corps, guarding the frontline, has been conducting guard duty with K6 heavy machine guns deployed at Guard Posts (GPs) and General Outposts (GOPs) without ammunition belts loaded into the weapons.

Amid growing concerns that this could impair 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 relevant guideline changes in advance.

According to the Army and other sources, the Army's 1st Corps changed its guard duty guidelines starting in the first half of this year to no longer maintain the ammunition belt connected to the K6 heavy machine gun, known as a loaded state, but instead to keep only ammunition boxes containing live rounds placed beside the firearms.

The K6 heavy machine gun is a representative crew-served weapon of the South Korean military deployed to respond to emergencies such as North Korean provocations or intrusions.

Previously, the standard protocol was to stand guard with the ammunition belt pre-connected to the machine gun. However, under the revised guidelines, firing would only be possible after taking the ammunition belt out of the ammunition box and connecting it to the machine gun once a situation arises.

It is reported that only the Army's 1st Corps has changed its guidelines. Facing North Korean forces, the 1st Corps is tasked with defending 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 the defense of the capital region.

The 1st Corps has reportedly not disclosed the reason for the guideline change.

The JCS stated that it had not received prior reports or 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 an accidental discharge of a K6 heavy machine gun that occurred at a GOP in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, last year may have influenced the background behind the guideline change.

At that 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 the occurrence, and no unusual movements by the North Korean military were reported.

Regarding this guideline change, some concerns are being raised that the frontline defense posture could be weakened.

In August of last year, 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, the weapon used by the South Korean military for warning shots was also the K6 heavy machine gun.

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
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.