By Alex Jensen
SEOUL
North and South Korea exchanged fire Friday afternoon after civic activists in the South sent balloons filled with anti-Pyongyang propaganda across the border.
The reclusive North had previously threatened aggression against the activists’ attempts to reach ordinary citizens with information about the outside world.
Shortly before 4 p.m., North Korea opened fire - South Korean news agency Yonhap reported that some shots landed in Gyeonggi Province south of the border, citing military officials.
The South returned fire – but no casualties have been reported on either side.
South Korea’s government had urged activists not to launch balloons after holding positive talks with leading North Korean officials last weekend, when North Korea’s effective second-in-command paid a surprise visit to the South for the closing ceremony of the Incheon Asian Games.
Friday marked the 69th anniversary of the North’s Workers' Party of Korea.
The two Koreas have been divided since after World War II, and are still technically at war as a peace treaty was never signed following the Korean War of 1950-53.
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