North, South Korea Military Officials Hold Secret Talks
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - High-ranking military officials from North and South Korea met secretly on Wednesday to discuss recent border altercations that involved gun fire, a South Korean opposition lawmaker and news reports said.
North Korea's military fired shots on Friday aiming at balloons sent by a private activist group from the South carrying leaflets with messages critical of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, with some of the bullets landing in the South.
South Korea's military fired back in the incident that did not escalate or result in casualties.
The military officials met at the Panmunjom truce village that sits on the armed border separating the two Koreas, Park Jie-won, a senior opposition member of parliament said at a party meeting, according to a statement issued by the party.
Yonhap news agency also reported a meeting was held, citing an unnamed government source.
South Korea's Defence Ministry and the Unification Ministry, the main agency that deals with the North, declined to confirm whether such a meeting was held.
North Korea has reacted angrily to the practice by private South Korean groups of sending balloons with messages attacking its leadership, and has warned that planned talks between the two sides were at risk of cancellation because Seoul allowed the groups to proceed.
South Korea has said there was no legal justification to stop a private group's activities, but has urged the groups against sending the leaflets.
