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SEOUL: North Korea fired multiple shots south into the demilitarized zone that divides the peninsula on Sunday, prompting South Korean troops to respond, the Seoul army said.
The rare exchange of fire comes after the reappearance, a day earlier, of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, after a nearly three-week absence from the public eye that sparked intense speculation about his health.
A South Korean guard post was hit by several shots from the north, the joint chief of staff (JCS) said in a statement, adding that no victims were reported on the south side.
“Our army responded with two shots and a warning announcement according to our manual,” said Seoul.
The JCS added that it was communicating with the North through its military hotline to determine the cause of the incident.
The two Koreas remain technically at war after the Korean War ended with an armistice in 1953, and despite its name, the Demilitarized Zone is one of the most fortified places in the world, replete with minefields and barbed wire fences. .
Relieving military tensions at his border was one of the agreements reached between Kim and southern President Moon Jae-in at a summit in Pyongyang in September 2018.
But most of the deals have not been carried out by the North, with Pyongyang cutting off contact with Seoul.
