North and South Korea Exchange Gunfire

By: Bill Waters
10/29/2010 06:57 AM ET

North and South Korea exchanged gunfire across their heavily armed land border on Friday. The North Korean frontline guard post fired two shots toward a South Korean guardpost. The shots came across the demilitarized zone, which prompted South Korea to return fire with three shots.

It was not immediately clear why North Korea fired first, he said.

South Korea media said the shots were fired toward a frontline unit in Cheorwon in the eastern province of Gangwon. There were no reports of injuries.

Relations between the two Koreas, still technically at war after signing only a truce to halt hostilities in the 1950-53 Korean War, sank to the lowest level in years in March with the torpedoing of the South’s warship, killing 46 sailors.

There was an exchange of artillery fire earlier this year at the disputed sea border.

South Korea and the United States said the North was responsible for the sinking, but Pyongyang denied any role.

In the past few months, tensions have eased on the peninsula with the South sending aid to its impoverished neighbor, and on the weekend the two sides will resume reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.

The thaw comes as regional powers look for ways to restart talks with the North on ending its nuclear arms program.

However, Seoul has said it won’t return to bilateral negotiations until the reclusive North acknowledges being behind the attack on the warship, posing a major stumbling block to the resumption of aid-for-disarmament talks with Pyongyang.

(Reporting by Seoul bureau; Editing by Nick Macfie)