Amid heightened tensions, South Korea's military fired warning shots this week when North Korean soldiers briefly crossed the border. The region is on edge due to ongoing disputes over trash-laden balloons and propaganda efforts.

South Korea's military reported on Tuesday that it had fired warning shots over the weekend in response to North Korean soldiers briefly crossing the border. The South Korean joint chiefs of staff (JCS) stated that a group of North Korean soldiers, stationed within the DMZ on the central front, briefly crossed the Military Demarcation Line, the heavily fortified border between the two Koreas. After issuing warning broadcasts and firing warning shots, the North Korean soldiers retreated northward. The incident occurred on June 9. The JCS added that aside from the immediate retreat following the warning shots, no unusual movements were observed, and the military continues to closely monitor the border.

This event unfolded amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula, sparked by Pyongyang's launch of balloons containing trash like cigarette butts and toilet paper into South Korea. North Korea claimed that these actions were in response to a campaign by North Korean defectors in the South who have been sending balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets over the border. In response to the balloon launches, the South Korean government suspended a 2018 tension-reducing military deal earlier this month and resumed loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts along the border. Pyongyang criticized Seoul for creating "a new crisis."

South Korea's military also reported on Monday that it had detected signs of North Korea installing its own loudspeakers. North Korea had been using loudspeakers along the border since the 1960s, typically broadcasting praise of the Kim family. However, Pyongyang suspended their use in 2018 as relations between the two Koreas improved. Despite this, relations between the two sides have deteriorated over the past couple of years. The two Koreas technically remain at war since the 1950-53 conflict, which ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.