South Korea’s military said its soldiers fired warning shots at North Korean troops who crossed the demarcation line between the two countries.
Around 10 North Korean soldiers violated the military line at 5pm local time on Tuesday, but returned after it made warning broadcasts and fired warning shots, South Korea’s military said.
Since re-entering the White House, US President Donald Trump has said he would reach out to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un again to revive diplomatic efforts begun during his first term.
The secretive regime has not responded to Mr Trump’s remarks, but recently claimed US hostilities against it had deepened since the inauguration.
Last month, Mr Kim’s sister threatened the Trump administration with retaliatory action for stepping up “provocations” with the deployment of a US aircraft carrier to South Korea.
There is no clear motive for Tuesday’s border crossing by North Korean soldiers.
Tensions between the two countries have been running high as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un continues to order missile tests and align with Russia over President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine.
North Korean special operations units are among the thousands of troops that Pyongyang has sent to Russia to fight in the Ukraine war, according to South Korea.
Bloodshed and violent confrontations have occasionally occurred at the Koreas’ heavily fortified border, called the Demilitarised Zone, or DMZ.
But when North Korean troops briefly violated the border in June last year, it didn’t escalate as South Korean officials decided it was accidental.
The 155-mile (249km)-long, 2.5-mile (4km)-wide DMZ is the world’s most heavily armed border.
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free
Read more on Sky News:
US is a tariff bully, China says
Kyiv confirms Russia incursion
Kim test fires new sniper rifle
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The incursion comes as South Korea copes with a leadership vacuum after the ousting of President Yoon Suk Yeol last week over his ill-fated imposition of martial law.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
