Skip to main content

Exchange of gunfire between N. Korea and S. Korea before G-20 summit

Military units of North Korea and South Korea exchanged gunfire near their border on October 29, 2010 (Friday), South Korean authorities said. However, no casualties were reported.

The exchange happened after North Korean forces fired two rounds from a 14.5 millimeter machine gun at a South Korean military guard post near the border town of Chorwon, South Korea, about 73 miles (118 km) northeast of Seoul, according to an official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff at South Korea.

The incident occurred just two weeks before the G-20 summit to be held in Seoul. The G-20 includes industrialized nations and developing economies, which focus on economic issues and economic policy coordination. Authorities said a total of 50,000 police and riot police will be deployed during the summit on November 11 and 12, according to Yonhap.

The South Korean unit responded with three "warning shots" from a .50-caliber machine gun and warned the North Korean guard post by loudspeaker to desist, the official said.

The demilitarized zone at the location of the shooting is 1.3 kilometers (0.8 miles) wide. Chorwon was the scene of heavy fighting during the 1950-53 Korean War.

North Korea on Friday threatened to retaliate against its neighbor for shunning bilateral military talks. The gunfire exchange apparently won't cancel reunions of families separated by the Korean War, which ended in a truce but no formal peace treaty. The weeklong reunions begin Saturday at Mount Kumgang, the two countries' joint mountain resort in the North.

North Korea has requested record shipments of rice and fertilizer in exchange for concessions on the reunions, the South Korean Yonhap news agency reported earlier this week.

While there are occasional shooting incidents across the demilitarized zones, the tensest flash point on the peninsula in recent years has been the disputed maritime border in the Yellow Sea.

There were fatal naval clashes there in 1999 and 2002. In March this year, the sinking of a South Korean vessel killed 26 in what a South Korean and international investigation team concluded was a North Korean torpedo attack. North Korea continues to deny involvement.

The prickly relationship between the countries since the Korean War has had periodic conciliatory moves and flare-ups.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

India film industry contributes $6.2 billion in year

India's film and television industry contributes an immense $6.2 billion (Rs 28,305 crores) to the Indian economy, according to a new report released by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The report, titled Economic Contribution of the Indian Film and Television Industry, also finds that the sector has a total gross output of $20.4 billion (Rs 92,645 crores) and contributes more to the GDP of India than the advertising industry. "This report demonstrates the importance of the film and television sector to the overall growth and vitality of the Indian economy. Indians should be proud of the staggering growth that the film and television industry has achieved," said Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) chairman Dan Glickman, who launched the report in New Delhi at the Asia Society Conference. "The film and television industry in India is one of the world's largest markets in terms of number of consumers and offers significant growth potential. Over the past fe...

HR group says BSF kills one Bangladeshi in every four days

Taking part in an open discussion, Odhikar general secretary Atikur Rahman Khan said BSF is killing one Bangladeshi in every four days. Human rights group Odhikar and Human Rights Watch at a press conference at BRAC Centre on December 13, 2010 revealed a report on killing, abuse and torture by the Border Security Force (BSF) of India along the border. About 1,000 Bangladeshis were killed by Indian Border Security Forces (BSF) over the last decade, according to a report released by rights groups in the capital city Dhaka in Bangladesh on December 13, 2010. Apart from the killings, the report says, the Indian border guards usually threaten, abuse and beat Bangladeshi people living in frontiers villages, but they hardly get any cooperation from Bangladesh police. "It's a gross violation of human rights." The report was prepared based on statements of victims, witnesses, journalists, human rights workers, law enforcement officials and members of BSF and BDR. The re...