South Korea says it fired warning shots after North Korean soldiers made 3rd temporary incursion

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s military said Friday that it had fired warnings shots the previous day to repel North Korean soldiers who temporarily crossed the rivals’ land border for the third time this month.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said several North Korean soldiers while engaging in unspecified construction work on the northern side of the border briefly intruded the military demarcation line that bisects the countries at around 11 a.m. Thursday.

The South Korean military in response broadcasted a warning and fired warning shots, to which the North Korean soldiers retreated. The joint chiefs didn’t immediately release more details.

South Korea’s military has said it believes the previous two border intrusions this month weren’t intentional as the North Korean soldiers have retreated after the warning shots and the North has not returned fire.

The South’s military says it has been observing increased North Korean construction activity in frontline border areas since April, such as installing suspected anti-tank barriers, reinforcing roads and planting land mines.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story is below: A South Korea activists’ group said Friday it again flew large balloons carrying anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets toward North Korea, adding to a campaign that aggravated animosities between the rivals and prompted a resumption of Cold War-style psychological warfare along their border.

The South Korean civilian group, led by North Korean defector Park Sang-hak, said it floated 20 balloons attached with 300,000 propaganda leaflets, 5,000 USB sticks with South Korean pop songs and TV dramas, and 3,000 U.S. dollar bills from the South Korean border town of Paju on Thursday