Two Koreas exchange fire at border

TOKYO, Oct 29 (KUNA) -- South and North Korean troops exchanged fire Friday near the border, with the North launching the first shots toward a South Korean military guard post, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing an official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul.
"Two shots were fired from a North Korean military guard post toward our guard post around 5:26 p.m. (0826 GMT), and we immediately returned fire with three shots as under the rules of engagement," the official was quoted as saying. There was no damage from the North Korean shots, the report said. The South Korean guard post is in Hwacheon, 118 kilometers northeast of Seoul, the report said, adding that the posts are 1.3 kilometers away from each other. The official said after returning fire, South Korea twice issued warnings that the North had breached the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War.
"It hasn't been confirmed whether the North Korean military took an aimed shot," the official said. The United Nations Command will send a special investigation team to determine whether North Korea had violated terms of the armistice, he said. South Korean military officials are looking at possible links between the shooting and a threat by the North earlier Friday of physical retaliation over Seoul's refusal to hold inter-Korean military talks. The two Koreas held their first working-level military talks in two years on Sept. 30 for discussions on cross-border issues, but the two-hour meeting ended without progress as Pyongyang refused to apologize for its alleged sinking of the South Korean warship. A Seoul-led multinational investigation team concluded in May that the warship was downed by a torpedo fired by a North Korean submarine near the Yellow Sea border. The North denies any involvement in the sinking that killed 46 South Korean sailors. (end) mk.ajs KUNA 291718 Oct 10NNNN