Two Koreas exchange shots across border

Seoul, Aug 6: North and South Korea briefly exchanged gunshots today in the first such skirmish on their heavily armed border in just over a year, a military official said.

There were no reports of any casualties.

''A few shots were fired from the North, and a few warning shots were fired (back) from this side,'' The official with the office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told sources.

The shooting came a day before the start of working level talks among regional powers, including the two Koreas, in the South Korean side of the buffer zone that has divided the peninsula for more than half a century.

The talks are part of a wider international effort to persuade North Korea to end its nuclear weapons programme in exchange for aid.

''No reaction or unusual movements by the North Korean military have been detected following our return fire,'' the Joint Chiefs said in a statement.

REUTERS>