Tensions between North and South Korea have escalated after Pyongyang challenged Seoul’s account of a September landmine incident in a letter to the UN Security Council, as North Korean artillery was spotted near the heavily fortified border.
A Reuters witness at an observatory in South Korea on Monday spotted a North Korean artillery piece in clear view near the frontier.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency identified the weapon as a self-propelled 122 mm howitzer, describing the deployment as a rare public display of artillery near the border.
Reuters also observed three North Korean armoured vehicles with their gun barrels pointed south, while between 20 and 30 North Korean soldiers carried out fencing work inside the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ).
Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University in Seoul, said the visible military presence appeared designed to signal Pyongyang’s willingness to enforce its border policy through force rather than dialogue.
He added that the move could serve as a warning to South Korea against actions that might heighten tensions or risk an accidental military clash.
The artillery display follows a letter from North Korea to the UN Security Council accusing Seoul of fabricating details of a September landmine incident in the DMZ.
According to North Korean state media KCNA, Pyongyang accused Seoul of using the incident to depict its border fortification work as a military incursion.
North Korea warned that any perceived violation of its sovereignty could prompt self-defence measures, adding that South Korea would be held responsible for the consequences.
Pyongyang's letter came in response to a communication sent by South Korea to the Security Council last week.
Seoul said an explosion in the DMZ on 21 September involved landmines planted by North Korean troops, violating the Korean War Armistice Agreement.
The UN Command, which oversees the DMZ, also said a North Korean mine had crossed the military demarcation line, breaching the armistice. Pyongyang has denied responsibility.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry said on Monday that the letter largely reiterated Pyongyang's previous claims and appeared aimed at justifying its border-marking operations.
Seoul has maintained its calls for dialogue to ease tensions along the frontier.
Pyongyang also accused South Korean forces of firing on North Korean personnel, alleging that the actions breached the UN Charter.
South Korea maintains that its military uses warning broadcasts and warning shots when North Korean soldiers cross the military demarcation line.
In recent years, North Korean troops have built tactical roads, erected fences and laid mines along the border.
Photographs cited by Yonhap also appeared to show North Korean forces carrying out military drills in Kaepung county, near the South Korean city of Gimpo.
The latest tensions echo a confrontation in 2015, when South Korean soldiers were injured by landmines near the border.
Seoul responded by resuming loudspeaker broadcasts directed at North Korea across the DMZ, triggering a military stand-off.
The crisis eventually eased after Pyongyang expressed regret and the two Koreas reached a high-level agreement.
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