North Korea's Violation of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL)

North Korea's Panmunjom Representative issued a statement on April 4, 1996 that it will dismiss the responsibility of maintaining and managing the MDL and the DMZ which were created by the Armistice Treaty.

As follow-up measures, North Korean personnel and vehicles didn't bear the obligatory indicators when entering the Panmunjom Joint Security Area (JSA) and the DMZ. When they need to raise tension the North Korea army violates the MDL deliberately.

Since declaring its disapproval of the DMZ in April 1996, the North Korean army crossed the MDL deliberately eight times until June 1998, and sometimes triggered battles with the South Korean army.

Pyongyang also asked for an apology for South Korea's countermeasures against the MDL violation calling them acts of interfering with normal patrol activities and threatening the lives of soldiers.

[ The records of North Korea's intrusion over MDL since April 1996 ]

April 11, 1996: Two North Korean soldiers intruded over MDL in Yanggu region in Kangwon Province.

May 17, 1996: Seven North Korean soldiers intruded over MDL in Yonchon region in Kyonggi Province.

March 10, 1997: Five North Korean soldiers intruded over MDL in Cholwon region in Kangwon Province.

April 10, 1997: Five to six North Korean soldiers intruded over MDL and opened fire in Cholwon region in Kangwon Province.

April 22, 1997: Five North Korean soldiers intruded over MDL in Munsan region in Kyonggi Province.

July 16, 1997: Seven North Korean soldiers intruded over MDL and opened fire in Cholwon region in Kangwon Province.

September 9, 1997: Two North Korean soldiers intruded over MDL in Yanggu region in Kangwon Province.

March 12, 1998: Five to six North Korean soldiers intruded over MDL in Cholwon region in Kangwon Province.