South Korea fires warning shots at North Korean soldiers crossing border

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said on Sunday it fired warning shots after North Korean soldiers crossed the military demarcation line between the two countries, prompting them to return. The Yonhap news agency reported the incident occurred last week on the Eastern Front, citing an unnamed source.

"Recently, on the Eastern Front, North Korean forces crossed the military demarcation line, prompting our military to fire warning shots according to operational procedures," a JCS statement said, without giving the exact date. Yonhap said this was the first reported violation of the line by North Korea this year, and that the soldiers were likely patrolling the area when they crossed.

The two Koreas remain technically at war after their 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty. North Korean troops violated the line 17 times last year, Yonhap reported. The North Korean embassy in Singapore did not immediately respond to a request for comment.