Exchanged of shots were made the day after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un makes first public appearance in 20 days.
The South’s military said that shots were fired by the North at 7:41am local time hit a South Korean guard post in the border town of Cheorwon. South Korea Army responded with 2 shots and a warning announcement.
The exchange took place a day after North Korean leader appeared after 3 weeks showing him visiting the launch of a fertilizer factory along with the State media. The reason for the gunshots still remains unclear, and an official from the South Korean joint chiefs of staff said that the gunshots did not appear to be a planned provocation, as the area where it occurred was farmland.
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.
