Seoul [South Korea], August 16 (ANI): North Korea on Sunday maintained complete silence regarding South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's overture to end the 1950-53 Korean War officially, even as details emerged that South Korean forces fired warning shots past the border following a brief crossing by North Korean soldiers, according to reports by South Korea's Yonhap News Agency.
South Korea's military fired warning shots last week after multiple North Korean soldiers crossed the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) inside the eastern sector of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Following the warning protocol, the North Korean troops promptly retreated to their side of the inter-Korean land boundary, with military officials stating the soldiers appeared to be on routine patrol operations.
The incident marks the first recorded border violation and warning-shot response by the South Korean military along the MDL this year, following similar brief line crossings by North Korean personnel in 2025 during border fortification work.
The border military tension coincides with Pyongyang ignoring a fresh diplomatic proposal from Seoul. During his address marking the 81st anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule on Saturday, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung offered to restart inter-Korean dialogue to formally replace the 1953 armistice agreement with a permanent peace regime and pursue peaceful coexistence. Lee, had became South Korean president last year after his predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached for attempting to declare martial law.
Lee expressed hope that the two nations "will sit face-to-face for peaceful coexistence and mutual growth."
However, North Korean official state media, including the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and the Rodong Sinmun newspaper, offered no coverage or response to President Lee's address on Sunday morning. Instead, state outlets focused entirely on internal celebrations of Liberation Day, including public pledges of loyalty at monuments honouring past leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, reported Yonhap.
North Korea has continually tested ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, which has been perceived in Seoul and nearby Japan as an attempt to intimidate and project power. Pyongyang declared itself a military power in the year 2022
Because the 1950-1953 Korean War concluded with an armistice rather than a formal peace treaty, the two Koreas technically remain in a state of war, with over 250 kilometres of heavily fortified border separating the two nations.
The diplomatic standstill comes amid heightened military readiness across the Korean Peninsula ahead of the annual US-South Korea joint military exercises, Ulchi Freedom Shield, set to begin on Monday. Pyongyang routinely condemns these joint manoeuvres as invasion rehearsals and has pledged enhanced nuclear and military deterrence against Washington and Seoul.
Meanwhile, the Russian ship Pallada arrived at Wonsan port for a goodwill visit on Saturday tied to the liberation anniversary.
Meanwhile, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reaffirmed the deepening of ties with Russia in a message to President Vladimir Putin as Pyongyang marked the anniversary of independence from Japan's colonial rule, KCNA state news agency said on Sunday as cited by Channel News Asia.
The CNA report said that Pyongyang and Moscow have grown closer since the reclusive state began deploying troops and weapons to support Russia's war against Ukraine in what has been Pyongyang's most significant involvement in a war since the 1950s. (ANI)
Pyongyang snubs Seoul's peace proposal as inter-Korean tensions flare ahead of US-South Korea drills
