North Korean media says Kim Jong Un makes public appearance
The report is unconfirmed and no pictures of the event have been released.
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South Korea said Monday that it was protesting North Korea, saying its troops initiated a gunfire exchange over the weekend in the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone that divides both countries.
Defense Ministry spokeswoman Choi Hyun-soo said his country sent a message to the north asking it to explain the incident. The north has not responded.
NO INDICATION KIM JONG UN HAD SURGERY DURING ABSENCE, SOUTH KOREAN OFFICIAL SAYS
South Korea is accusing Noth Korea of targeting one of its guard posts Sunday by firing several bullets at the building. South Korean troops returned 20 warning shots in response. No casualties were reported on either side.
Army soldiers walk up the stairs of their military guard post in Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea on Sunday. North and South Korean troops exchanged fire along their tense border on Sunday, the South's military said, blaming North Korean soldiers for targeting a guard post. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
The exchange occurred two days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appeared in public for the first time in nearly three weeks. His absence prompted rumors about his health and speculation that a transition of power could take place.
South Korean military officials said the shooting was not a provocation while Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also said he believed the firing was not intentional.
The U.N. Command said it was investigating the incident to determine whether there was a violation of the armistice agreement signed by both countries that ended the Korean War -- though hostilities still remain.
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The gunfire exchange was the first in the DMZ in nearly three years. In 2017, North Korean soldiers sprayed a barrage of bullets at one of their own attempting to defect to the south.
South Korean troops did not return fire. The defector was shot five times but survived and now lives in South Korea. In 2018, both Koreas took down some of their guard posts in an effort to reduce tensions.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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