Koreas exchange gunfire at border
Saturday, 30 October 2010
SEOUL, Oct 29 (Reuters): North and South Korea exchanged gunfire across their heavily armed land border on Friday, the South's military said, despite an apparent thaw in tensions on the divided peninsula in the past few months.
The rare exchange of fire took place a fortnight before the leaders of the world's 20 top economies meet for a G20 summit in the South Korean capital Seoul, about 100 km (60 miles) south of the demilitariised zone.
The South's defense ministry said in a statement none of its troops were hurt, and there had been "no more unusual activity by the North." A South Korean military official said the army had put on heightened alert.
It was not immediately clear what was behind the skirmish, but in the past the North has carried out similar provocations around the time the South has hosted prominent international events.
YTN television said, however, it was unlikely that the North had deliberately fired across toward the South only hours before families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War were due to be reunited for the first time.
The North Korean frontline guard post fired two shots toward a South Korean guardpost across the DMZ and the South returned fire with three shots, a joint chiefs of staff official said.
The South Korea military official said he had not received any communication from the North. A United Nations team will be sent to the area on Saturday, he added.
The North Korean shots were fired at a frontline unit in Cheorwon in the eastern province of Gangwon.
The rare exchange of fire took place a fortnight before the leaders of the world's 20 top economies meet for a G20 summit in the South Korean capital Seoul, about 100 km (60 miles) south of the demilitariised zone.
The South's defense ministry said in a statement none of its troops were hurt, and there had been "no more unusual activity by the North." A South Korean military official said the army had put on heightened alert.
It was not immediately clear what was behind the skirmish, but in the past the North has carried out similar provocations around the time the South has hosted prominent international events.
YTN television said, however, it was unlikely that the North had deliberately fired across toward the South only hours before families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War were due to be reunited for the first time.
The North Korean frontline guard post fired two shots toward a South Korean guardpost across the DMZ and the South returned fire with three shots, a joint chiefs of staff official said.
The South Korea military official said he had not received any communication from the North. A United Nations team will be sent to the area on Saturday, he added.
The North Korean shots were fired at a frontline unit in Cheorwon in the eastern province of Gangwon.