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- At the heavily guarded border between South Korea and North Korea there was an exchange of fire between soldiers from both countries.
- This was announced by the General Staff in South Korea.
- The reasons for this are not known.
North Korean soldiers fired on a South Korean border checkpoint within the four-kilometer-wide military buffer zone. South Korean soldiers returned fire after sending warnings. There was no information on the victims or other damage on the South Korean side. Initially it was unclear if there were any injuries on North Korean soil.
The aim was to try to get a more accurate picture of the situation and avoid further incidents through the Korean communication channels. Meanwhile, the South Korean army is on standby.
Still in a state of war
The incident in the central section of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) near Cheorwon occurred a day after North Korean state media reported on the first public appearance of ruler Kim Jong-un for a long time. Kim’s absence for nearly three weeks had sparked speculation about his health and questions about the situation in the isolated country. State media denied on Sunday that Kim had undergone an operation.
Since the Korean War (1950-53), incidents have often occurred at the maritime and national borders between the two countries in the past. But two and two years ago, South and North Korea had agreed to new measures to ease the military. As part of the agreement, they had cleared several border control points in the border area.
Neighboring countries are still at war under international law. The DMZ has separated the two countries four kilometers wide and about 250 kilometers long since their brotherly war.
