Military Authorities Order GP and GOP Security Units to Maintain Weapons Loaded

In response to controversy regarding the operation of crew-served weapons at Army I Corps' General Outpost (GOP) and Guard Post (GP) without live ammunition loaded, military authorities have issued a directive for frontline security units to maintain a loaded state with live ammunition.

Soldiers of the 7th Army Division were on guard duty at the GOP outpost on the 27th. Photo by Yonhap News.

According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff on July 31, the Army Ground Operations Command issued a fragmentary order the previous day, directing all frontline GP and GOP units to keep their crew-served weapons loaded with live rounds.

An official from the Joint Chiefs of Staff explained, "Since yesterday, the Ground Operations Command has been conducting an inspection of all frontline security operation units, and will take necessary measures based on the results of the inspection."

Previously, Army I Corps, which is responsible for the western front, sparked controversy by operating crew-served weapons such as K6 heavy machine guns and K4 automatic grenade launchers during GP and GOP security operations without loading live ammunition, instead keeping ammunition boxes containing live rounds nearby. This practice began in the first half of this year.

The standard procedure is for frontline units to operate crew-served weapons with live ammunition loaded in preparation for unexpected situations. However, it has been reported that I Corps changed its security operation guidelines at the discretion of the corps commander in order to prevent accidental discharges, among other reasons.

The scope of the inspection includes all frontline corps, such as the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and Capital Corps, and will check the actual state of security operations and other relevant matters.

Meanwhile, the Joint Chiefs of Staff also announced that, in relation to the incident involving a U.S. unmanned aerial vehicle in the northern region of Gyeonggi Province, the Combat Readiness Inspection Team will visit I Corps on this day to conduct an overall review of the situation.

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