Armed North Korea Troops Again Violate the DMZ (original) (raw)
World|Armed North Korea Troops Again Violate the DMZ
https://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/08/world/armed-north-korea-troops-again-violate-the-dmz.html
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- April 8, 1996
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April 8, 1996
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Heavily armed North Korean troops entered the sensitive buffer zone between North and South Korea tonight for the third day in a row, violating the armistice that ended the Korean War, United States and South Korean officials said.
The actions by the North Koreans have heightened tensions on the heavily fortified border, where the cold war has never thawed. But some American and South Korean officials have said the North, by thumbing its nose at the armistice agreement, appears to be making more of a diplomatic gambit than actually preparing for war.
We view these activities of the past three evenings as a series of continuing serious armistice violations, but we see nothing that would warrant particular alarm," said Jim Coles, a spokesman for the United Nations Command, which encompasses American, South Korean and other allied troops in South Korea. In Seoul, people appeared to be calm tonight.
[In Washington, a spokeswoman for the Defense Department, Lieut. Comdr. Karen Jeffries, called the latest incursion by North Korean troops "a serious violation of the armistice, though not unprecedented." She said American officials had not seen an increase in military activity to suggest that North Korea was preparing for war.]
Mr. Coles said between 150 and 180 North Korean troops entered the joint security area at the village of Panmunjom in the demilitarized zone at about 8:05 P.M. and appeared to be engaging in training exercises. They were carrying weapons including AK-47 assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, recoilless rifles and mortars, but left at 10:45 P.M. without firing a shot.
Officials at South Korea's Ministry of Defense gave a similar account. But one of them said there was some speculation that the number of North Korean troops might have been as high as 400, based on the capacity of the six small trucks and six large trucks used to transport them.
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