Details of military's response to N. Korea's firing along DMZ released
- 4 years ago
군, 북한군 GP에 조준사격…K-6 고장 첫사격 총성 32분만
The South Korean military has released more details on how it handled the incident last Sunday involving North Korea firing several rounds that hit a South Korean guard post along the border.
The military confirmed a delay occurred when responding to the shots due to a weapon malfunction.
Kim Ji-yeon gives us the timeline of the incident.
An official from South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed on Wednesday... that on the morning of May third, three soldiers detected gunshots on the outer wall of their observation post in the Demilitarized Zone in Cheorwon county and pressed the alarm bell at 7:41AM.
Due to bad visibility they were unable to confirm where the shots came from at the time.
At 7:51AM, after conducting a field inspection a soldier confirmed three bullet marks on the right side of the observation post... and assessed that they had been fired from a North Korean guard post some one-point-five kilometers away.
At 7:56AM the battalion commander ordered warning shots to be fired towards the North's guard post.
The soldiers at the guard post tried to carry out the order with a KR-6 gun with a remote control system three times at 8:01AM but failed due to a weapon malfunction.
Later, 15 shots were fired at 8:13AM with a different weapon, a K-3 machine gun... 32 minutes after the South Korean military first witnessed the North's gunshots.
The soldiers then found one more bullet mark at the right side of the South Korean military's observation post as well as the head of the bullet... on the ground... and assessed the shot was fired from a 14-point-5 millimeter anti-aircraft machine gun.
The division commander ordered another 15 rounds from a K-6 this time... at 8:18AM.
The warning shots from the K-3 machine gun were of a smaller caliber than the North's weaponry and thus might not have been the appropriate response.
The military official said they've gathered (quote)"decisive" evidence to determine that the North's shootings were accidental... due to a misfire conducted in firearm inspections.
"North Korea has yet to respond to the military's demand of an explanation.
The United Nations Command is drawing up a report on the incident.
Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News."
The South Korean military has released more details on how it handled the incident last Sunday involving North Korea firing several rounds that hit a South Korean guard post along the border.
The military confirmed a delay occurred when responding to the shots due to a weapon malfunction.
Kim Ji-yeon gives us the timeline of the incident.
An official from South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed on Wednesday... that on the morning of May third, three soldiers detected gunshots on the outer wall of their observation post in the Demilitarized Zone in Cheorwon county and pressed the alarm bell at 7:41AM.
Due to bad visibility they were unable to confirm where the shots came from at the time.
At 7:51AM, after conducting a field inspection a soldier confirmed three bullet marks on the right side of the observation post... and assessed that they had been fired from a North Korean guard post some one-point-five kilometers away.
At 7:56AM the battalion commander ordered warning shots to be fired towards the North's guard post.
The soldiers at the guard post tried to carry out the order with a KR-6 gun with a remote control system three times at 8:01AM but failed due to a weapon malfunction.
Later, 15 shots were fired at 8:13AM with a different weapon, a K-3 machine gun... 32 minutes after the South Korean military first witnessed the North's gunshots.
The soldiers then found one more bullet mark at the right side of the South Korean military's observation post as well as the head of the bullet... on the ground... and assessed the shot was fired from a 14-point-5 millimeter anti-aircraft machine gun.
The division commander ordered another 15 rounds from a K-6 this time... at 8:18AM.
The warning shots from the K-3 machine gun were of a smaller caliber than the North's weaponry and thus might not have been the appropriate response.
The military official said they've gathered (quote)"decisive" evidence to determine that the North's shootings were accidental... due to a misfire conducted in firearm inspections.
"North Korea has yet to respond to the military's demand of an explanation.
The United Nations Command is drawing up a report on the incident.
Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News."