South Korean troops fired warning shots near the border separating the rival countries as North Korean soldiers approached the Military Demarcation Line near Paju, Gangwon Province, the office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday.

According to the JCS office, more than 10 North Korean soldiers were spotted approaching the demarcation line at about 9:40 a.m Monday. Located within the Demilitarized Zone, the MDL divides the two Koreas.

“At about 9:40 a.m., about 10 North Korean soldiers approached the MDL to the left of the JSA. Our military sounded warnings and fired warning shots,” a JCS official told the media.

“Our military fired about 20 warning shots and the North Korean soldiers did not return fire. The situation eased with the North Korean troops withdrawing at about 1 p.m.”

North Korean soldiers approached the MDL for the third time in less than a month. On Oct. 18, North Korean troops approached the MDL in Gangwon Province and returned north following warning shots from the South. On the following day, North Korean troops again approached the MDL near Paju and exchanged fire with the South Korean soldiers.

On Monday, the North Korean soldiers reached the MDL and surveyed the area, including taking photographs of the sign that marks the demarcation line, according to reports.

The warning shots, mostly fired with the K-3 machine gun, did not land on the North Korean side of the line, Seoul’s military said.

The South Korean military considers the string of recent provocations by Pyongyang to be aimed at testing Seoul’s preparedness.

The latest provocation by the North Korean military coincided with the beginning of a 12-day military exercise by Seoul. The annual exercise involves all three branches of the military, and aims to improve South Korea’s response to full-scale war and localized incursion by the North. This year, the exercise is underway on the largest-ever scale involving 330,000 soldiers.

On Saturday, North Korea criticized the exercise through its state media Korea Central News Agency, saying that “war-crazy” Seoul was provoking Pyongyang.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)