Exchange of Fire in the DMZ

On August 20, North and South Korea exchanged live fire over the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the western part of the border.  North Koreans fired a projectile at a South Korean front-line military unit in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province (located at the southern part of the Military Demarcation Line).  The North Koreans later used a 76.2-mm direct fire weapon a few times within the DMZ. The ROK returned 155-millimeter shells in response. The ROK reported no damage. Casualties in North Korea is unknown.

• North Korea might have fired the shots in the direction of a South Korean loudspeaker (ROK loudspeaker propaganda campaigns across the DMZ had resumed on August 11 after an 11-year hiatus). The loudspeakers are installed in 11 places along the MDL.
   
• North Korea has threatened to retaliate further if South Korea continues the loudspeaker broadcasts
   
• Consistent with our CSIS study, these North Korean actions are not a direct response to U.S.-ROK exercises but correlate with the pattern of inter-Korean relations prior to the military exercises, which had been trending negatively following the August 4 landmine blast in the DMZ that injured South Korean soldiers.