DMZ Sees Inter-Korean Exchange of Fire

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, November 27, 2001

DMZ Sees Inter-Korean Exchange of Fire

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said that an outpost of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) opened fire at a South Korean military post at 10:42 a.m. Tuesday and the South Korean post returned fire. No casualties were reported after the exchange of fire in the incident that occurred in the inter-Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), it added. It seemed an "accident" although the window of the South Korean post was shot broken, said the South Korean military.

The South Korean side said it will demand that the DPRK explainthe cause of the accident through the inter-Korean liaison office in the Panmunjom.

Early Tuesday, the DPRK alleged that the South Korean army had moved heavy weapons into the zone Monday. "The South Korean army made a serious military provocation by introducing two armored vehicles inside the DMZ at 2:30 p.m. Monday," the DPRK Korean Central Broadcasting Station said. However, in response, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff dismissed the allegation, saying the South Korean army is strictlyfollowing the cease-fire treaty which bans moving heavy weapons into the zone.

Last Thursday, the DPRK radio station accused South Korea of deploying an 105-mm howitzer in the inter-Korean buffer zone at 2:35 p.m. Wednesday, saying it was also a provocation.