South Korean President Lee Vows To Expand Support For Border Regions

(MENAFN- IANS) Seoul, Sep 12 (IANS) South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said Friday the government will step up support for regions bordering North Korea to compensate for their sacrifices and promote balanced regional growth.

Lee made the remarks during a town hall meeting with residents in Gangwon Province, located south of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas.

"Gangwon is the nation's largest tourist destination, but at the same time, it is also a region that has borne enormous sacrifices due to the inter-Korean confrontation," Lee said at the event in Chuncheon, about 85 kilometers northeast of Seoul, Yonhap News Agency reported.

"Although we cannot fully compensate for the special sacrifices borne by border regions like Gangwon, we will make every effort to ensure that living in Gangwon no longer feels unfair," he added.

Lee criticised past governments for imposing excessive restrictions on border areas without providing fair compensation, calling the practice "unjust."

He said the government will expand education, cultural and welfare infrastructure to improve living conditions in the region while pursuing balanced national development.

After the meeting, Lee visited a front-line Army unit in Hwacheon, about 118 km northeast of Seoul, and received briefings on military readiness, vice presidential spokesperson Ahn Gwi-ryeong said in a written briefing.

He was accompanied by Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back to visit an observatory and a guard post located just south of the DMZ, she said.

On August 24, a spokesperson of the US-led UN Command (UNC) said that around 30 North Korean troops recently crossed the inter-Korean border despite warning broadcasts, triggering warning shots from the South Korean military.

The spokesperson made the remarks in response to a question from Yonhap News Agency, a day after North Korea berated the South Korean military for having fired more than 10 warning shots at North Korean troops who were conducting a border reinforcement project last week.

"The UNCMAC investigation team confirmed that the around 30 members of the Korean People's Army (KPA) crossed the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) in an area where they have been conducting construction and maintenance activities," the spokesperson said via email, Yonhap News Agency reported. UNCMAC is short for the UNC Military Armistice Commission.

"ROK forces issued several warning broadcasts in an attempt to notify the soldiers that they had crossed the MDL, but they did not respond to the broadcasts. ROK forces then fired warning shots in a designated warning shot area to compel the KPA soldiers to return to the north side of the MDL," the official added.

ROK is short for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.

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