The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) says that North Korean soldiers fired several gunshots at a South Korean frontline guard post in the northern demilitarized zone near Inje, Gangwon Province around 1:30 p.m. Monday.

South Korean soldiers returned fire with ten warning shots, but no casualties resulted from the exchange.

A JCS official said the shots hit the ground a hundred meters from the guard post, raising a cloud of dust. Presuming that the shots were fired from the North, South Korean soldiers immediately fired back.

After the warning shots, South Korea asked the North to apologize but received no response.

The Joint Chiefs says it has yet to confirm whether it was a provocation or an accident.

No response or unusual moves by the North have been detected following the exchange.

The JCS says it will investigate the incident through the United Nations Command's Military Armistice Commission.

On July 31st last year, two shots were fired from the North Korean DMZ guard post in Yanggu County, Gangwon Province, which South Korean forces countered with six shots.