(CNN) — North Korea fired gunshots at the wall of a South Korean guard post in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), a buffer area which separates the two countries, on Sunday, and the South fired back, according to its military.
The North Korean gunfire did not injure anyone or cause any discernible damage to the guard post or its equipment, said South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). Several bullets from the North were fired into the DMZ at 7:41 a.m. local time Sunday, the JCS said in a text message to press.
The South Korean military responded by broadcasting a verbal warning and returning fire twice, according to protocol outlined in the response manual and on the judgment of the field commander, according to the JCS statement.
The South Korean military said that “the military is in the process of identifying situations over the military communication line with the North and preventing any additional situations from occurring.”
Under the military accord signed between the two Koreas on September 29, 2018, the South and North each demolished 11 guard posts along the DMZ, but dozens of guard posts remain.
There have been exchanges of fire between the Koreas in the past, including in 2017, when a North Korean solider defected at the JSA (Joint Security Area) and, in 2014, when a North Korean defector organization launched balloons of leaflets criticizing the country’s reclusive regime.
It is not known what caused this exchange of fire.
This story was first published on CNN.com, “Gunfire exchanged in DMZ across border between North and South Korea”
