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Military updates land border rule in dealing with North Korean incursions

Published: 22 Dec. 2025, 14:54

The demilitarized zone along the western front and the area surrounding Kaesong is seen from a border area in Paju, Gyeonggi, on Feb. 18. [YONHAP]

The military has internally updated a rule in defining the inter-Korean border when dealing with incursions by North Korean soldiers to prevent the risk of accidental clashes, officials said on Monday.

The move comes as North Korean troops have repeatedly violated the military demarcation line (MDL) within the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas since last year while conducting construction near the heavily fortified border.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it has ordered troops to prioritize markers that indicate the MDL when making decisions while also “comprehensively” applying both the MDL on the South Korean military map and a line connecting the MDL markers set out by the U.S.-led United Nations Command (UNC).

The move effectively enables the military to use a line drawn farther south in assessing whether North Korean troops' border crossings have occurred.

Under the updated guideline, even if North Korean troops cross the line connecting the MDL indicators, the South Korean military may not respond if it assesses they are not crossing the MDL in terms of its own military map.

Nearly 1,300 markers were installed in 1953, a month after the signing of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War, but only about one-sixth of them are identifiable. Maintenance efforts by the UNC have been suspended since the North fired at workers conducting the job in 1973.

The JCS issued the update in an official order distributed to subordinate units in September, spokesperson Lee Sung-jun said in a regular press briefing.

A North Korean flag flutters at Gijungdong in North Korea in this picture taken near the truce village of Panmunjom on July 19, 2022. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

The JCS said the decision, which took effect last year, is aimed at ensuring troops' firm response and preventing accidental clashes between the two Koreas in the event of a border crossing by North Korean soldiers.

Lee did not elaborate on why the official document was issued this year when the order had already gone into effect last year.

Last month, Seoul's Defense Ministry proposed holding military talks with Pyongyang on how to clarify the MDL, which marked South Korea's first official proposal for talks with the North since President Lee Jae Myung took office in June, with a pledge to mend frayed ties with the North and create conditions for dialogue.

The North has yet to respond to the proposal.

North Korean troops have violated the land border 16 times since March, with 10 cases reported in November alone.

The South Korean military has responded by broadcasting warning messages and firing warning shots.

Yonhap