N Korea-MDL crossing

▲ This file photo, provided by the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Dec. 23, 2024, shows North Korean soldiers installing barbed wire near the inter-Korean border. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Sept. 30 (Yonhap) -- North Korean soldiers are judged to have intruded across the heavily fortified inter-Korean border around 50 times between August and September alone, a lawmaker said Wednesday.

Citing an inquiry reply from the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), Rep. Yu Yong-weon of the main opposition People Power Party said the North's soldiers are said to have crossed the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) into the South around 20 times in August and about 30 times in September.

In response to the North Korean soldiers' incursion, the South Korean military issued warning broadcasts and fired warning shots, prompting them to retreat.

Earlier in the day, South Korea blamed North Korea for last week's land mine explosion inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that injured its troops, demanding an apology and responsible measures from Pyongyang.

The South Korean military's statement came hours after North Korea denied involvement in the Sept. 21 mine blast on the southern side of the heavily fortified border and dismissed Seoul's claims as a "groundless" conspiracy.

The JCS said the DMZ blast caused by mines planted by the North constitutes a breach of the Armistice Agreement that ended the 1950-53 Korean War, and called on Pyongyang to immediately stop its border fortification work.

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