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North, South Korea exchange fire at land border: Seoul
Attacks follow release of balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets and come as Kim Jong-un misses function, fuelling rumours over his health
PUBLISHED : Friday, 10 October, 2014, 6:08pm
UPDATED : Friday, 10 October, 2014, 9:52pm
Agencies in Pyongyang, Seoul, and Beijing
South Korean activists release balloons carrying anti-North Korea leaflets at a park near the inter-Korea border in Paju, north of Seoul, on October 10, 2014. Photo: AFP
North and South Korea exchanged heavy gun fire across their border last night just hours after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un failed to appear at the anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers' Party for the first time in three years.
The attacks began after the North fired at balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets launched by activists in the South, military officials said.
No casualties were reported, although some residents living nearby in the South Korean township of Hapsuri were evacuated as a precaution.
While naval confrontations along the two rivals' disputed maritime border occur from time to time, military engagement across the heavily militarised frontier is extremely rare.
It came as speculation mounted yesterday that something was amiss with the North's authoritarian leader, who has not been seen publicly in more than a month.
An official state media dispatch listed senior government, military and party officials who paid their respects at an event marking the party's 69th anniversary, but not Kim.
It said a flower basket with Kim's name on it was placed before statues of his father and grandfather, both of whom also ruled North Korea.
State media had said earlier that the might of the party was "growing stronger under the seasoned guidance of Marshal Kim Jong-un".
Kim typically visits the ex-leaders' mausoleum in Pyongyang at midnight on such occasions, accompanied by the country's top echelon officials.
The official Korean Central News Agency usually reports such meetings in the small hours of the morning.
This time, KCNA reported only that senior officials, including the head of parliament Kim Yong-nam, the Korean People's Army's top political officer Hwang Pyong-so, and Premier Pak Pong-ju visited the mausoleum.
Kim, who is thought to be 31, has not been seen performing his customary public duties since he attended a concert on September 3. He had been walking with a limp and was more overweight than usual in images that aired before that.
An official documentary from late last month described him as dealing with "discomfort", which led to international speculation that he may be ill.
This week a source said Kim was suffering an ankle and knee problem and needed 100 days to recuperate.
Yesterday's exchange of fire followed the launch from Hapsuri of a number of gas-filled balloons with attached bundles of leaflets denouncing the North Korean regime.
Two hours after the launch, rounds of heavy machine gun fire were heard from the North Korean side, lasting about 20 minutes, the ministry spokesman said.
After a number of high-calibre rounds were found to have fallen near South Korean border posts, the South retaliated by firing 40 rounds "towards the North's guard posts", he added.
"We are closely monitoring movements of the North Korean military," he said.
The balloon launch from Hapsuri followed a similar morning exercise by another group of activists in Paju, Seoul-based Fighters for a Free North Korea, who released around 200,000 leaflets condemning the "dictatorship" of Kim attached to 10 balloons.
The leaflets criticised the repressive rule of the ruling Kim family and called for a rebellion by those suffering inside a "living hell".
"Rise up against the hereditary dictatorship of Kim Jong-un," said a slogan emblazoned on one balloon.
Seoul allowed both exercises to go ahead, despite prior warnings from Pyongyang of "catastrophic" consequences.
Associated Press, Kyodo, Reuters and Agence France-Presse
