[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] 15.9km of Frontline Science-based Surveillance Network Not Restored

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[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] Amid exposed gaps in the boundary surveillance on the eastern front line of Gangwon Province, it has been revealed that the general outposts (GOP) damaged by the heavy rains in August have still not been restored. The military installed GOP scientific surveillance equipment as a substitute force due to reduced personnel in frontline surveillance units caused by troop reductions, but there are criticisms that these systems are practically useless.

According to the military on the 5th, the GOP scientific surveillance equipment triggers sensors when people or animals come into contact with the wire fences, immediately transmitting alerts to the GOP unit's monitoring control center. However, this year’s heavy rains caused damage, including the loss of 15.9 km of wire mesh. The longest damaged section was 4.9 km in Yeoncheon County, Gyeonggi Province, followed by 4.6 km in Hwacheon County, Gangwon Province, 1.5 km in Yanggu County, Gangwon Province, and 1.5 km in Inje County, Gangwon Province. Surveillance cameras were also damaged. In Yeoncheon County, Gyeonggi Province, and Cheorwon, Hwacheon, and Inje Counties in Gangwon Province, parts of short-range and mid-range surveillance cameras were lost, rendering them nonfunctional.

With a North Korean civilian crossing over the frontline wire fence on the eastern front line of Gangwon Province and being secured as a new detainee, another gap in surveillance was exposed, leading to criticisms that the GOP scientific surveillance equipment is ineffective. Notably, the unit where this incident occurred was the site of the so-called "Knock Defection" in October 2012, when a North Korean soldier knocked on the military outpost door to express his intention to defect, raising questions about whether follow-up measures from that incident were properly implemented.

The wire fence crossed by the North Korean man was equipped with scientific surveillance equipment consisting of wire mesh sensors and closed-circuit television (CCTV). However, the sensors did not trigger. When the Knock Defection incident occurred eight years ago, the military proposed adjusting and adding surveillance equipment to minimize blind spots near the fence as a countermeasure. The reason for criticism that the military, which had "blindly trusted" the performance of the scientific surveillance equipment, has been caught off guard again is clear.

A Joint Chiefs of Staff official stated regarding North Korean military movements related to this matter, "Typically, when a defector occurs, North Korea shows unusual signs such as searching, but (this time) there were no unusual signs from the enemy."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.