Lim Chang-Won
AFP
October 29, 2010
North and South Korean troops exchanged fire Friday across their tense border, Seoul’s military said, an incident which heightened tensions before next month’s G20 summit of world leaders in Seoul.
The North fired two bullets at a frontline guard post at 5:26 pm (0826 GMT) and South Korean soldiers immediately fired three shots in return from a machine gun, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.
“There were no more shots afterwards. We are now closely watching their movements,” a spokesman told AFP, adding it has strengthened defence readiness.
He said no South Koreans were hurt in the incident near the Demilitarised Zone dividing the peninsula.
Exchanges of fire break out occasionally near the heavily fortified and closely guarded frontier.
But Friday's shooting, in the Hwacheon area some 90 kilometres (56 miles) northeast of Seoul, came at a sensitive time as the South prepares to host the Group of 20 summit on November 11-12.
South Korea's military was put on top security alert this week to guard the meeting against any disruptions by North Korea or international terrorists.
Leaders attending include US President Barack Obama and the summit is being considered the nation's biggest appearance on the world stage since the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
The firing came hours after the North vowed to retaliate against the South for rejecting its proposal for fresh military talks.
Cross-border tensions have been high since Seoul accused Pyongyang of torpedoing one of its warships in March with the loss of 46 lives.
The military said the North's shots hit a guard post from 1,300 metres (4,300 feet) away. The South returned fire and broadcast two warnings that the shooting breached a truce accord in force since the 1950-53 war.
The JCS said its forces are prepared for quick mobilisation if necessary.
"It hasn't been confirmed whether the North Korean military took an aimed shot," an official said.
The JCS spokesman said the US-led United Nations Command monitoring the armistice would send investigators Saturday.
But the South said a reunion programme for families separated since the war would start Saturday as scheduled at the North's Mount Kumgang resort.
Earlier Friday the North said relations would face a "catastrophic impact" if South Korea persists in rejecting military dialogue aimed at easing tensions on the peninsula.
The first such military talks for two years made no progress in September after Seoul demanded an apology for the warship sinking.
Pyongyang refuses to accept the findings of a multinational investigation that blamed the tragedy on a North Korean night-time submarine attack. It says it is the victim of a smear campaign.
The communist state's military offered to hold a second round of talks on October 22. But the South rejected the offer, citing no change in the North's attitude.
The rejection of dialogue "precisely meant confrontation and war", the North's military said in a statement, adding it would "no longer feel any interest in dialogue and contact.
"The South Korean puppet military authorities will have to keenly realise what catastrophic impact their rejection of dialogue will have on the north-south relations," it added.
After months of tension over the warship, the North has made some apparent conciliatory gestures including a one-off resumption of the temporary reunions.
But the rhetoric from the North's military has remained tough.
On October 15, it threatened to attack sites in South Korea if Seoul carries out its threat to start cross-border propaganda broadcasts and leaflet drops.
The two sides reached a deal in 2004 to halt their official cross-border propaganda war. But the South says it will be resumed if there is any fresh cross-border provocation.
