Not good.
Via Daily Caller:
Some in South Korea are accusing North Korea of violating the armistice by opening fire at the border.
When a North Korean soldier slipped into South Korea in the Joint Security Area (JSA) at the Demilitarized Zone Monday, four of his comrades let loose a barrage of bullets, firing roughly 40 rounds at the man. He was hit five times before he collapsed in a pile of leaves on the southern side. The soldier was airlifted to a South Korean medical facility, where he remains in critical condition.
While South Korea is doing all that it can to save the wounded soldier’s life, Seoul is also deeply troubled by other aspects of the recent incident.
The North Korean troops who attempted to gun down the defector did so with assault rifles*, specifically AK-47s. “This is a violation of the armistice agreement,” a South Korean military official told the Korea JoongAng Daily,
adding, “We plan to lodge a serious protest against North Korea through the United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission.”Cheong Wa Dae — the Blue House — has yet to officially accuse North Korea of violating the armistice.
Only handguns are allowed in the JSA. Furthermore, the South is investigating whether North Korea fired into South Korea, which would also constitute a violation of the agreement made in the aftermath of the Korean War. It is, however, particularly disconcerting that the North Korean guards are carrying heavier firepower than their South Korean counterparts.
Note: An AK-47 is not an assault rifle.