Probe of shooting in North

The United States-led UN Command in Seoul will launch an investigation into a recent shooting incident by the North, according to Ministry of National Defense officials yesterday.

On Friday, the North Korean military fired two shots at a South Korean military guard post near the inter-Korean border in Hwacheon, Gangwon, according to military officials.

“UN Command officials led by U.S. Col. Kurt Taylor, who is the UNC Military Armistice Commission secretariat, will discuss forming a special-investigation team and start an on-site investigation as early as tomorrow,” said one military official.

The investigation will decide whether the shooting constitutes a violation of the armistice treaty. The two Koreas technically remain at war since a cease-fire was signed in 1953, after three years of fighting in the Korean War.

A ministry official said it’s unlikely that the North intentionally fired shots.

The incident took place two days after the South Korean military put security at its highest level in advance of the G-20 Summit.

By Moon Gwang-lip [joe@joongang.co.kr]