North and South Korea exchanged gunfire again on Sunday after North Korea reportedly sent troops close to the border in an attempt to halt the South's distribution of anti-Pyongyang leaflets to northern citizens.
South Korea said its soldiers fired warning shots at the 10 North Korean soldiers who were approaching the demilitarized zone, the Guardian reported. North Korean soldiers were said to have fired at least two shots in return, which were found at a South Korean guard post.
There are no reported injuries or major damage, and North Korean soldiers turned around following the warning shots, according to South Korean joint chiefs of staff.
One South Korean analyst, Cheong Seong-Chang, working at the Sejong Institute thinktank, claimed he believes the North is "intentionally escalating military tension to spread fear about possible casualties should leafleting continue," the Guardian reported.
The previous outbreak 10 days ago occurred after North Korea fired on balloons filled with propaganda leaflets found floating over the border. The flyers were sent by South Korean activist groups largely composed of defectors from the North. The group has said they plan to continue sending leaflets.
The balloons contained 20,000 anti-North Korea leaflets, 1,000 U.S. $1 bills, 400 propaganda DVDs and 300 propaganda thumb drives, the Associated Press reported.
North Korea's Secretariat of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea called the act "little short of a declaration of a war," adding that "If the South Korean authorities allow or connive at the projected leaflet-scattering operation, the north-south relations will again be pushed to an uncontrollable catastrophe and the provokers will be wholly accountable for it."
Leaflets often encourage North Korean citizens to revolt against its leader, Kim Jong-un, the Guardian reported. North Korea has repeatedly told the South to ban activists from sending the leaflets, but the South has so far refused, saying that doing so would undermine their freedom of speech.
A South Korean warship fired warning shots earlier in October after a North Korean patrol boat crossed a disputed border. The North Korean boat returned fire and retreated, according to Reuters.
The altercations come just weeks after top North Korean officials made a surprise visit with South Korean officials.
