South Korea on Thursday fired dozens of shells into North Korea after detecting a rocket fired across the heavily-militarised border, pushing already elevated cross-border tensions to dangerously high levels.
Direct exchanges of fire across the inter-Korean land border are extremely rare, mainly, analysts say, because both sides recognise the risk for a sudden and potentially disastrous escalation between two countries that technically remain at war.
Thursday’s incident came amid heightened tensions following mine blasts that maimed two members of a South Korean border patrol earlier this month and the launch this week of a major South Korea-US military exercise that infuriated Pyongyang.
A defence ministry spokesperson said South Korea had detected a rocket fired from the North Korean side across a western section of the border shortly before 4:00pm (0700 GMT).
“It landed on our side, but struck no military target,” the spokesperson told AFP, adding there were no apparent casualties or damage.
A North Korean soldier trains his sights on the South at the truce village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarised Zone dividing the two Koreas in 2014. PHOTO: AFP
South Korean military units retaliated by launching “dozens of rounds of 155mm shells” targeting the rocket launch site, the ministry said in a statement.
“We have strengthened our military readiness and are closely watching movements of the North’s military,” it added.
