Artillery Fire in Korean Border Skirmish

North Korean troops fired artillery shells toward a South Korean border post today during a fierce exchange of fire, a Southern military spokesman said.

The spokesman said no casualties were reported, although Southern troops spotted an ambulance heading to a North Korean guard post shortly after the shooting.

Spokesman Yeo Sook Dong said North Korean forces fired 10 artillery rounds that landed near a guard post on the southern side of the Demilitarized Zone between the two countries.

He said the incident began when a group of North Korean soldiers crossed the Military Demarcation Line that runs through the middle of the DMZ.

After repeated broadcast warnings, South Korean troops fired warning shots into the air, he said. North Korean forces responded by aiming 70-80 rounds of rifle fire at two guard posts, whose troops answered with a similar burst of fire.

Southern forces responded to the artillery barrage by firing one round from a recoilless rifle, the spokesman said. The shooting ended after about 50 minutes when the South Korean side broadcast a cease-fire proposal.

The incident took place only three weeks before the two Koreas, the United States and China are due to hold talks to pave the way for negotiations aimed at hammering out a peace treaty to officially end the 1950-53 Korean War.

Senior officials from the four nations are due to meet in New York on Aug. 5 to set an agenda and other procedural details for the peace talks.

The DMZ was set up as a buffer zone at the end of the war but is now one of the world’s most heavily fortified frontiers.

In April, North and South Korean troops exchanged warning shots at the DMZ shortly before visiting U.S. Defense Secretary William S. Cohen flew to the area.

About 37,000 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea to guarantee that nation’s security.