North and South Korea exchange gunfire across DMZ border area

Confrontation comes day after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un makes first public appearance in three weeks

South Korean soldiers patrolling along a barbed wire fence separating North and South Korea (AFP via Getty Images)

Gunfire has been exchanged over the demilitarised zone that divides North and South Korea, with no casualties reported on Seoul’s side.

The South’s military said that multiple gunshots fired by North Korea at 7.41am local time hit a South Korean guard post in the border town of Cheorwon.

South Korea responded with “two rounds of gunfire and a warning announcement”, said a military statement.

The exchange took place a day after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made a public appearance for the first time in three weeks, with state media showing him visiting the launch of a fertiliser factory.

The reason for the gunshots remains unclear, and an official from the South Korean joint chiefs of staff said the gunshots did not appear to be a planned provocation, as the area where it occurred was farmland.

In a briefing held later on Sunday, the official said: “In absence of vision [for the target] and in the fog, would there be an accurate provocation?”

Choi Kang, vice president of the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said he believed the timing of the “grey area” provocation shows it could have been planned to show that Kim was still in power.

“Yesterday, Kim was trying to show he is perfectly healthy, and today, Kim is trying to mute all kinds of speculation that he may not have full control over the military,” said Mr Choi.

“Rather than going all the way by firing missiles and supervising a missile launch, Kim could be reminding us, ‘Yes, I’m healthy and I’m still in power.’”

Mr Kim was seen in photographs at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the plant. The authenticity of the photos, published on the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper website, could not be verified.

The exchange was the latest confrontation between the rival Koreas, which technically remain at war.

Additional reporting by Reuters