Overview
- South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed an internal rule that prioritizes on-site MDL markers and, where markers are unclear, weighs both the ROK military map and a line connecting UNC marker coordinates, using the southern line if they differ.
- Under the instruction, troops may withhold a response if only the UNC marker line is crossed but the ROK map MDL is not, and the measure applies to daytime, exposed activity near the line.
- The guidance was shared with frontline units in June 2024 and formally added to an operational guideline in September 2025, with the practice applied since last year.
- The JCS cites 26 North Korean land-border violations since last year and reports roughly 2,400 warning broadcasts and 36 warning shots, after which North Korean troops retreated.
- The main opposition People Power Party condemned the change as giving up ground, USFK/UNC leaders stressed the armistice framework, and Seoul plans UNC consultations next year on MDL coordinate gaps it estimates affect about 60 percent of points as Pyongyang has not responded to proposed military talks.