North and South Korean troops have exchanged fire across the border, a South Korean official said.North Korea fired two rounds towards South Korea at their tense border on Friday and South Korean troops immediately fired back, highlighting the security problems faced by Seoul as it prepares to host Barack Obama and other world leaders at the Group of 20 economic summit next month.
An official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul said the exchange of fire at the heavily militarized border began when North Korean troops fired at a South Korean guard post in the Demilitarized Zone.- There were no South Korean injuries and it was unclear whether it was an accident or an intentional provocation, the official said. He asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
- The guard post is 73 miles (118 kilometers) northeast of Seoul.
- The firing of the 14.5—mm rounds came hours after North Korea criticized the South for rejecting a proposal to hold military talks and vowed to retaliate.
- Shooting incidents are infrequent at the border. The last such incident was in 2007 when South Korea said North Korean soldiers opened fire and the South shot back. No South Korean soldiers were hurt and it was unclear if anyone was injured in the North.
Despite Friday’s exchange of fire, previously arranged reunions of hundreds of families separated by the Korean War will go ahead Saturday in the North as scheduled, South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae—sung said.
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