SEOUL – South Korea said Monday it protested to North Korea over the exchange of gunfire inside their heavily fortified border that it says the North started.
South Korea said several bullets fired from North Korea hit one of its front-line guard posts on Sunday before South Korean troops fired 20 rounds of warning shots in response.
It was the first shooting inside the Demilitarized Zone in about 2 ½ years, but there were no known casualties on either side, according to South Korean defense officials.
Defense Ministry spokeswoman Choi Hyun-soo told reporters Monday that South Korea sent a message of strong protest and urged North Korea to explain the shooting and avoid similar incidents.