Maj. Gen. Urs Gerber, who heads the Swiss delegation of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission, places a flower in front of the monument to the 1976 ax murders of two U.S. Army officers by North Korean soldiers, during a memorial at the Joint Security Area in the truce village of Panmunjom on Aug. 18, 2015, to pay homage to the victims. (Yonhap)
As it turns out the North Koreans did not fire artillery at the loudspeaker on the ROK side of the DMZ and instead used an anti-aircraft weapon:
The two Koreas traded fire on Thursday after the North launched artillery shells apparently targeting propaganda loudspeakers installed across the border, threatening additional military action against the broadcasts and further heightening tension on the peninsula.
The North fired a 14.5-milimeter anti-aircraft gun once at around 3:53 p.m. at a town in Yeoncheon County, Gyeonggi Province, and then a 76.2-mm direct fire weapon “several times” at 4:15 p.m. within the Demilitarized Zone, military officials here said. Shortly after detection, the Army discharged a 155-milimeter self-propelled gun at 5:04 p.m.
The Army reported no damage. Casualties in the North were not immediately known.
Coincidentally with the exchange of fire, Pyongyang sent two separate letters to the South, calling for a withdrawal of the loudspeakers and threatening military action.
In the letter sent from the General Staff of the North Korean People’s Army to South Korea’s Defense Ministry through a border telephone channel at around 4:50 p.m., Pyongyang warned that it would initiate “military action” unless Seoul stops the propaganda broadcasts within 48 hours from 5 p.m.
In a separate letter by Kim Yang-gon, director of the United Front Department in charge of cross-border affairs, to National Security Office chief Kim Kwan-jin, Pyongyang said the broadcasts constitute a “declaration of war” but it is willing to resolve the current situation and “open a way out for the improvement of the relationship.”
Seoul said it has no plan to dismantle the speakers at this point. (………….)
The North’s anti-aircraft gun ammunition appeared to have hit an uninhabited hill located several kilometers away from a loudspeaker set, an official at Seoul’s Defense Ministry said. Yet the North did not appear to have aimed at the equipment, he noted, without elaborating.
“We detected signs that the North Korean military staged two rounds of firearm provocation in the southern part of the Military Demarcation Line, and fired dozens of rounds of a 155-millimeter self-propelled gun as warning shots,” Joint Chief of Staff spokesman Col. Jeon Ha-kyu said at a news briefing. [Korea Herald]
You can read more at the link.
judging by the quick reaction by the ROK forces they were likely ready for what was a pretty predictable action by the North Koreans to try and destroy one of the propaganda loudspeakers:
South Korea fired tens of artillery rounds towards North Korea on Thursday after the North fired a projectile towards a South Korean loudspeaker that had been blaring anti-Pyongyang broadcasts, the defense ministry in Seoul said.
North Korea did not immediately respond to the South’s shots, it said, as tensions rose on the peninsula.
South Korea said its detection equipment had spotted the trajectory of a suspected North Korean projectile launched at around 3:52 pm (0252 EDT), which did not appear to have damaged the loudspeaker or caused any injuries.
“Our military has stepped up monitoring and is closely watching North Korean military movements,” South Korea’s defense ministry said in a statement.
South Korea’s military raised its alert status to the highest level.
There was no mention of the firing in North Korean state media, which does not typically make immediate comment on events.
The suspected North Korean projectile landed in an area about 60 km (35 miles) north of Seoul in the western part of the border zone, the defense ministry said. South Korean residents in the area were ordered to evacuate, according to the South’s Yonhap news agency.
Yonhap reported that the projectile appeared to have landed in a mountainous area near a South Korean military base in the town of Yeoncheon. [Reuters]
You can read more at the link, but this will not be the last of the tit-for-tat along the DMZ as the North Koreans have threatened more military action if the propaganda speakers are not taken down in 48 hours. In preparation for more provocations civilians along the western DMZ are being evacuated.
Soldiers of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission give a salute during a memorial at the Joint Security Area in the truce village of Panmunjom on Aug. 18, 2015, to pay homage to the two U.S. military officers, who were axed to death by North Korean soldiers at the village in 1976. (Yonhap)
Via the Stars and Stripes comes this YouTube video which shows when the two ROK Army soldiers were hit by the planted North Korean landmine:
Here is what experts in the article had to say about detecting such infiltrations:
A South Korean military official, speaking on customary condition of anonymity, said that while South Korean troops aggressively monitor the border with advanced surveillance equipment and their naked eyes, their ability to monitor some portions of the DMZ is limited.
North and South Korean troops man outposts along the Military Demarcation Line, often in forested areas.
“It’s very difficult to keep watch there for 24 hours a day, especially if it’s rainy or foggy,” said Kim Seongmin, a defector and former North Korean military officer who now heads Free North Korea Radio. “If North Korean troops want to violate the armistice agreement, they can do it there,” he said.
An Chanil, who was stationed at the DMZ as a platoon sergeant in the North Korean army, agreed.
“Nobody can see everywhere,” said An, who defected in 1979 and is now president of the World Institute for Korea Studies, a Seoul-based think tank.
He said ordinary North Korean soldiers would have difficulty crossing the demarcation line, though specially trained reconnaissance soldiers could do so with ease.
“The DMZ is their home ground,” he said. [Stars & Stripes]
You can read more at the link, but this is why any North Korean soldiers caught violating the armistice should be shot on site. In the past warning shots were fired when they were caught crossing the DMZ. It is now time to start attriting their operatives who are specially trained for these missions. That will be a deterrent to continuing to launch such attacks.
The ROK probably should have never stopped clearing shrubbery around the DMZ in the first place considering North Korea’s long history of border incursions and provocations:
Han’s remarks came as the South’s military is preparing to take preliminary steps to pave the way for offensive operations within the 250-kilometer stretch of the four-kilometer-wide buffer zone.
It is considering forest burning in some areas, an operational practice the South decided to stop in 2001 following inter-Korean working-level military talks.
An official explained that burning shrubs will help the military secure a view of North Korea’s guard posts and reconnaissance activities ahead of launching offensive operations within the area. The official said if it is conducted, the burning operation would be carried out in the fall to avoid southerly wind.
Amid such considerations, a South Korea-U.S. joint artillery live fire drill began on Wednesday.
Running through the end of this month, the drill will see the participation of cutting-edge weapons, including South Korea’s K-2 tanks and FA-50 fighter jets as well as the U.S.’ Paladin self-propelled howitzers, Apache helicopters and A-10 attack aircraft. [KBS World Radio]
You can read more at the link.
U.S. and ROK forces to hold unscheduled live-fire drills near North Korean border after DMZ ambush HT @ISNJH @140DPRK http://t.co/1ZJ4FYz558
— Andrew NK (@northkoreafront) August 12, 2015
This photo, released on Aug. 11, 2015, by the Defense Ministry, shows loudspeakers that South Korea has installed at a unidentified site on the western front-line bordering North Korea to resume its anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasting. The resumption of the loudspeaker campaign is in retaliation of a the North’s bloody mine detonation on South Korean soldiers on the South Korean side of the demilitarized zone in Paju, north of Seoul, on Aug. 4. (Yonhap)
The height of the “DMZ War” was between 1967-1972 where a number of provocations by the North Koreans killed dozens of US troops. However, if there was an event that could be looked back at as the start of the DMZ War it would probably be the 1963 Jeep ambush. In the early morning of July 29, 1963 three soldiers from A Troop, 1st Recon Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division were driving down a dirt road 50 yards south of the Korean Demilitarized Zone to relieve a guard post. As they passed over a bridge they were ambushed by a 5-7 man North Korean squad. They used small arms fire and grenades which killed the driver and caused the Jeep to rollover into a minefield. The three soldiers in the Jeep did not stand a chance at being able to defend themselves from this cowardly ambush. The below picture of the acting 1st Cavalry Division Commander Brigadier General Charles Pershing Brown sums up how angry American soldiers at the time had to be about this ambush:
The attack made front page news back in the US because it was the first time the North Koreans had launched an attack on the South side of the DMZ:
Here is how the Stars & Stripes initially reported on the ambush:
What I find fascinating about this incident is that the US responded to the North Korean provocation much the same way we still do today, with United Nations letters and harsh rhetoric that was so famously lampooned in the movie “Team America: World Police“. A follow on Stars & Stripes article would provide further information about the attack to include naming the casualties:
The two soldiers killed in the attack were:
Here is an article with David Seller’s picture on it that was sent to the Korean War Educator by his family:
Here is a picture of his flag draped coffin during his funeral in Wisconsin:
Here is another article with a picture of the other deceased soldier Private First Class Charles Dessert:
The wounded soldier from this attack was:
Amazingly Foster survived the attack despite being shot in the chest, hip, abdomen, and hand. Doctors at a hospital set up a Kimpo Airfield were able to extract three of the four bullets. The fourth bullet was lodged next to his spine so the doctors decided to leave it there. What is even more amazing about Foster is that he fought and was wounded at the age of 15 in the Korean War as well:
Here is a picture of him as paratrooper in the Korean War via Getty Images:
He may be the only US soldier ever wounded in both the Korean War and the DMZ War. I could not find out what ever happened to William Foster, but I hope he is living a long life right now to make up for the tribulations he went through in Korea as a young man. He would probably be a fascinating interview if he is still alive and a journalist was able to track him down.
Anyway the next day after the attack that killed Dessert and Seller and wounded Foster, a four man North Korean patrol was found south of the DMZ. The US and ROK forces were able to kill the four man infiltration team, but not before another US soldier and a Korean soldier were also dead:
The US soldier killed in the attack was:
Corporal Larion was a member of the 1st Cavalry Division and received posthumously a Bronze Star Medal for his actions during the engagement with the North Korean infiltrators. Another soldier, Sergeant Abraham W. McManus also received a Bronze Star Medal during the same attack.
All of this combat happened just two days after the 10 year anniversary of the signing of the armistice to end the Korean War. It was pretty clear that the North Koreans were using the date to send a symbolic message to the US much like they continue to use significant dates to signify provocations to this day. Their provocations today have only been deadly against the Korean military, however as history has shown the North Koreans will attack US military members if they feel they can get away with it. Obviously in 1963 and throughout the DMZ War period the Kim regime at the time felt comfortable that they could commit these provocations with little blow back due to the US being tied down in Vietnam and their support from China and the Soviet Union. If the North Koreans today develop a reliable nuclear weapon capability would they feel confident again that they could launch attacks against US soldiers with little blow back? Time will tell, but for soldiers serving in Korea today, this attack 1963 should serve as a reminder of what the Kim regime is capable of.
For more DMZ Flashpoints articles please click the below link:
DMZ Flashpoints is my ongoing series of articles chronicling the various incidents over the years that have occurred along the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). A popular saying is that there is no “D” in DMZ and these decades of deadly incidents long the DMZ is proof of that. Using newspaper archives I have been able to reconstruct the events of what happened in these incidents all those years ago. You can learn more about these incidents and the brave servicemembers who gave their lives in defense of South Korea at the below links:
