Border guards of the two Koreas briefly exchanged fire Monday but there was no report of South Korean casualties, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Tuesday.
The incident occurred at around 7:35 p.m. in Yanggu in the eastern part of the demilitarized zone (DMZ), as North Korean soldiers fired an estimated three bullets toward a South Korean guard post, the JCS said in a statement.
South Korean border guards immediately fired six rounds in response but there were no further shots from the North.
Two of the three North Korean bullets hit the wall of a South Korean guard post inside the DMZ, but they didn't kill or injure South Korean soldiers, the JCS said. The other North Korean bullet fell near the guard post.
"We demanded an apology from North Korea via a loudspeaker right after the exchange of fire but there was no response," said Col. Ha Doo-chul, spokesman for the JCS, noting that South Korea returned fire in accordance with the rules of engagement inside the DMZ.
It was not immediately known whether there were any North Korean casualties.
"The U.N. Military Armistice Commission will conduct a probe into the shootout because it is a violation of the armistice," Ha said. The commission, a United Nations agency, supervises the implementation of the truce terms of the Korean War.
The two Koreas are still technically in a state of war, since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.
The mine-strewn 4-kilometer-wide DMZ, which stretches for 248 kilometers from east to west, serves as a buffer zone between the Koreas.
Monday's incident took place amid rising tension over North Korea's missile and nuclear weapons programs.
On July 5, North Korea test-fired a salvo of missiles, including a long-range Taepodong-2, which led to condemnation from around the world and a U.N. resolution banning member countries from engaging in missile activities with the communist country.
All seven North Korean missiles fell harmlessly into the East Sea.
North Korea had warned that sanctions on the communist state were tantamount to a declaration of war. Armed clashes along the inter-Korean border have been rare as the two Koreas have been pushing for reconciliation since the first-ever summit of their leaders in Pyongyang in 2000.
In 2004, a North Korean tracer shot fell near a South Korean post inside the DMZ, triggering an immediate return of fire from the South.
The navies of the two Koreas fought gun battles along the disputed western maritime border in 1999 and 2002, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides.
Seoul, Aug. 1 (Yonhap News)
Two Koreas exchange fire along DMZ |
