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South and North Korea exchange gunfire at border ahead of high-level talks

A day after South and North Korea exchanged gunfire at the border, South Korea's unification ministry expressed optimism that high-level talks between the Koreas would go forward as proposed on Oct. 30.

By JC Finley

SEOUL, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- South and North Korea exchanged gunfire on Sunday, with no reported casualties.

The incident occurred around 5:40 p.m. when North Korean soldiers approached the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas. South Korean soldiers issued a verbal warning before firing a warning shot at the approaching troops.

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Pyongyang's military responded by firing across the border, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, and left two marks on a South Korean guard post. The South Korean troops returned fire.

The incident follows an initial meeting of senior military leaders from both Koreas last Wednesday, the first of its kind since 2007. Pyongyang expressed disappointment about the pace of the meeting, whose objective was for both countries to examine ways to relieve inter-Korean military tensions, accusing Seoul of "being rigid and inactive to its suggestions aimed at easing tensions" and threatening to cancel its proposed high-level talks with Seoul expected to be held in late October.

The North has also expressed outrage over the attempted distribution of anti-Pyongyang pamphlets across the border by South Korea activists.

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On Monday, South Korea Unification Ministry spokesman Lim Byeong-cheoi expressed optimism that the North Korean-proposed talks would go forward as planned, despite silence from Pyongyang. "Our government expects the second South-North high-level contact to be held Oct. 30 as suggested on Oct. 13," said Lim.

Despite the spokesman's optimism, another ministry official cautioned: "We do not rule out the possibility that the North will continue its silence for the time being."

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