SOUTH KOREA’S MILITARY HAS SAID that North Korea troops fired on a South Korean army post earlier today, and the soldiers returned fire.
A spokesperson for the South Korean military said that two bullets were fired by the North across the border this morning.
South Korean troops fired three bullets in response, but no more were fired by either group, AFP reports. The shootings occurred along the border at Hwacheon, about 90km north-east of Seoul.
The spokesperson said that no South Koreans were injured.
Today’s incident comes as South Korea prepares to host the G20 at its capital in a fortnight.
AFP says that tensions between the neighbouring countries have been tense since the South accused the North of torpoeding one of its ships in March. Forty-six people were killed. North Korea denied involvement in the incident, the BBC reports.
The sinking led to talks aimed at decreasing tension between the two to collapse last month.
This morning’s shooting occurs as about 100 families who were divided by the Korean War are preparing to be reunited this weekend at a resort in the North, according to the New York Times.
This is believed to be the first-cross border incident on land since 2006, according to the BBC. The border between North and South Korea is one of the most heavily fortified in the world.
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