UN Command says both North and South Korea violated Armistice Agreement in DMZ shooting

Both North and South Korean forces violated the armistice agreement in the exchange of gunfire in the Demilitarized Zone ((DMZ) dividing the peninsula on May 3, the United Nations Command (UNC) said in a statement as of May 26. A multinational UNC special investigation team concluded that the Korean troops of both the nations had violated the agreement that ended the 1950-1953 Korean War instead of a peace treaty. 

In about two and a half years, it was the first shooting inside the Demilitarized Zone separating the two military alliances, however, no casualties were reported. The de facto border on May 3 witnessed four rounds of 14.5mm ammunition at a UNC guard post, fired by the North Korean troops on the southern side of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) that divides the DMZ, the UNC said in a statement. Commanded by the American general, the US-led UN Command oversees affairs in the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). 

Shortly after the firing, Seoul's soldiers retaliated and broadcasted warnings in non- compliance with the historic ceasefire that led the UNC to open a probe into the standoff, according to reports. However, in an official statement, UNC said that investigation was unable to conclude whether the North’s Korean People’s Army (KPA) fired gunshots "intentionally or by mistake". 

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No "formal response" from North Korea

Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) with statements from the Republic of Korea Army (ROK) soldiers reportedly said at the time that military personnel retaliated twice and the tensions escalated. UNC spokesperson Col. Lee Peters said in a video briefing on May 26 that the UNC determined that both the [DPRK] KPA and the ROK Army committed Armistice Agreement violations with unauthorized small arms fire across the military demarcation line. Therefore, no substantial blame on one nation’s army for violating the ceasefire was to be laid, it added.

Meanwhile, North Korea’s military had not offered a "formal response" on the investigation, UNC reportedly said, adding the South's forces provided "full cooperation". Furthermore, South Korean and US officials have said that the gunshots could have been an “accidental” violation, as per state media reports. A ministry’s statement claimed that South Korea soldiers “fully adhered” to the procedures in response to the UN command’s investigation. Last, the two military troops exchanged fire on the DMZ in 2014, as per reports. 

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