Koizumi Downplays Shootout in Korean DMZ

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, July 17, 2003

Koizumi Downplays Shootout in Korean DMZ

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi downplayed Thursday a shootout incident in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) in the Korean Peninsular.

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Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi downplayed Thursday a shootout incident in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) in the Korean Peninsular.

"I heard the situation has not become worse and is under control," Kyodo News quoted Koizumi as saying at his office.

Earlier in the day, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Japan cannot comment on the incident because the circumstances at the time had yet to be known.

Security guards of South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) briefly exchanged fire in the DMZ on Thursday, but there were no casualties on the South Korean side, according to South Korea's military.

The shootout took place at Yoncheon, in the central part of theDMZ at about 6:10 a.m. on Thursday (2110 GMT Wednesday).

DPRK soldiers started the shootout by firing what appeared to be four machine gun rounds to concrete barrier around a South Korean guard post, then the South Korean soldiers immediately fired back 17 rifle rounds, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staffsaid in a news release.

It was not immediately known whether there were casualties on the DPRK side.

It was the first land border clash since Nov. 27, 2001 when soldiers of both sides exchanged fire. In late June last year, thenavies of the two countries had a skirmish in the Yellow Sea, during which four South Korean soldiers lost their lives.

Now, there are 37,000 US troops stationed in South Korea, mostly deployed near the inter-Korean border as a deterrent against foreign attacks on South Korea.

Thursday's clash came on a South Korean holiday -- "Constitution Day."

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