Woman detained after entering restricted zone near DMZ, reaching front line military fence

A woman apprehended by the military after she entered a restricted zone near the border with North Korea in Cheorwon County, Gangwon, and damaged a front line fence spent 20 hours in the militarily sensitive region without being found, raising questions about security along the frontier.

"Our military secured on Sunday an unidentified individual who approached a military security facility without authorization in an area north of the Civilian Control Line [CCL] and south of a general outpost [GOP] in Cheorwon County, Gangwon, and is investigating the circumstances with relevant authorities," an official from the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Monday.

The woman entered the area north of the CCL on Saturday, the military said. She continued moving north, reaching the GOP's barbed-wire fence on Sunday, where she reportedly tried to damage sensors attached to the fence.

A joint investigation by relevant authorities found no indications of espionage or other activities linked to North Korea. During questioning, the woman reportedly gave incoherent explanations for her actions.

Established by South Korea after the 1950-53 Korean War to protect military facilities in the inter-Korean demilitarized zone (DMZ), the CCL runs roughly five to 10 kilometers (up to 12 miles) south of the border with North Korea. Civilians need permission from the South Korean military to cross the line.

GOPs are military facilities that guard the barbed-wire fence that marks the southern border of the DMZ.

The incident also drew scrutiny during the National Assembly's National Defense Committee audit of the Defense Ministry on Monday.

"Are you aware that our GOP security perimeter was breached?" Rep. Sung Il-jong of the People Power Party asked Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul.

"She entered after crossing the CCL," Minister Kang replied.

“That’s what a security breach is,” Rep. Sung shot back.

Rep. Sung also pointed out the woman was first spotted on closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage on Saturday afternoon.

"The fence sensor was cut 20 hours after she was first detected,” Rep. Sung asked. “Was she not spotted on CCTV before it was cut?"

"The investigation is underway," Minister Kang replied, to which Rep. Sung said, "This is not something you can just gloss over.”

JCS Chairman Gen. Jin Yong-sung explained that the woman had been detected in the CCL area on Saturday afternoon but was "not spotted again on CCTV or other surveillance systems while the military conducted an operation to apprehend her."

Military authorities are investigating the woman's exact movements and activities north of the CCL, as well as whether the front line unit's security operations had any shortcomings at the time.

BY JUNG SI-NAE [[email protected]]