A key U.S. ally fired warning shots Friday — live ones to repel North Korean soldiers and a diplomatic volley to counter Russian President Vladimir Putin, as tensions rise after his new mutual defense pact with Kim Jong Un.
South Korea, which has so far only provided non-lethal aid to Ukraine, said it was considering arming Kyiv in response to a newly forged alliance between Moscow and Pyongyang reminiscent of the Cold War that has alarmed officials in the West.
Seoul summoned the Russian ambassador Georgy Zinoviev on Friday, with South Korea's foreign ministry issuing a statement demanding that “Russia immediately stop military cooperation with North Korea.” The ministry added that the Kremlin’s support threatens its security and violates U.N. Security Council resolutions.
While Seoul has described the crossings as unintentional, commercial satellite imagery obtained by NBC News showed a new wall-like barrier being erected in the past months along portions of the North Korean side of the demarcation zone (DMZ), which is a 2.5 miles thick buffer zone, half on each side of the border line.
"North Koreans are building wall sections, not a continuous wall across the entire DMZ," Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, told NBC News.Border tensions have been escalating for a while, with South Korea resuming aerial surveillance near the boundary and declaring null parts of the 2018 military accords.
Following that exchange, Kim suspended the accords altogether, restoring guard posts along and sending trash-filled balloons over the border.
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