TEMPO.CO, Seoul - South Korea fired a barrage of artillery rounds into North Korea on Thursday, August 20, after the North shelled across the border to protest against anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts by Seoul, moves that raised tensions on the divided peninsula.
Washington urged Pyongyang to halt any "provocative" actions in the wake of the first exchange of fire between the two Koreas since last October. Both sides said there were no casualties or damage in their territory.
North Korea did not return fire but warned Seoul in a letter that it would take military action if the South did not stop the broadcasts along the border within 48 hours, the South's Defence Ministry said.
In a separate letter, Pyongyang said it was willing to resolve the issue even though it considered the broadcasts a declaration of war, South Korea's Unification Ministry said.
North Korea's young leader, Kim Jong Un, would put his troops on a "fully armed state of war" starting from 5 p.m. on Friday and had declared a "quasi-state of war" in frontline areas, Pyongyang's official KCNA news agency reported.
Such language is often used by North Korea in times of tension with the South.
A South Korean military official said the broadcasts would continue. Seoul began blasting anti-North Korean propaganda from loudspeakers on the border on Aug. 10, resuming a tactic that both sides had stopped in 2004.
South Korea said the North had fired one anti-aircraft shell followed by multiple shells on Thursday.
South Korea's military, which said it fired "tens" of artillery rounds in response, raised its alert status to the highest level.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye told defence officials to "react firmly" to North Korean provocations, a spokesman quoted her as saying.
"Our military has stepped up monitoring and is closely watching North Korean military movements," South Korea's Defence Ministry said.
The North Korean army said the South fired 36 rounds, six of which landed near its guard posts, in a "reckless provocation," KCNA said.
REUTERS
