Military updates land border rule in responding to N. Korean incursions

The military has internally updated guidelines in defining the inter-Korean land border when dealing with incursions by North Korean soldiers to prevent the risk of accidental clashes, officials said Monday. The move comes as North Korean troops have repeatedly violated the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas since last year in the process of carrying out construction activities near the heavily fortified border. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it has ordered troops to prioritize markers that indicate the MDL when making decisions, while also "comprehensively" applying both the MDL on the South Korean military map and a line connecting the MDL markers set out by the U.S.-led United Nations Command (UNC). The move effectively enables the military to use a line drawn farther southward in assessing whether North Korean troops' border crossings have occurred. Under the updated guideline, even if North Korean troops cross the line connecting the MDL indicators, the South Korean military may not respond if it assesses it is not the