North and South Korean troops exchanged gunfire across their heavily fortified border for the first time in about a year, a military official said today.
North Korean troops fired two shots at a South Korean guard post near the Demilitarized Zone late yesterday and South Korean troops returned six shots, an official said.
A South Korean soldier aims a M201 grenade launcher from an observation point in the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas
No South Korean troops were injured; there was no word if any North Korean soldiers were hurt.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff issued a statement saying the UN Command Military Armistice Commission - monitoring a truce that halted fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War and has left the two countries technically at war since then - will look into the skirmish.
One of the shots hit the guard post, causing South Korean troops to immediately return fire, the official said.
Ties between the Cold War foes had warmed in recent years after they reached agreements on economic co-operation and military confidence-building.
Last October, however, North Korea fired a bullet toward a South Korean guard post and the South returned fire and the two navies clashed along a disputed maritime border in 2002, resulting in deaths and casualties on both sides.
Ties have become notably strained since North Korea defied international warnings, including from South Korea, and test-fired seven missiles on July 5th.
After a inter-Korean ministerial meeting days after the tests, Seoul said it would suspend food aid until Pyongyang returned to stalled six-country talks on ending its nuclear weapons programme.
North Korean delegates stormed out of the meeting and said the South would "pay a price" for spoiling inter-Korean ties. Since then, North Korea has halted several projects with the South, including the reunion of families separated by the 1950-1953 Korean War.