North Korea claims South fired in the buffer zone between countries; Seoul issues denial

North Korea claims South fires toward its border

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea is accusing South Korea of opening fire in the military buffer zone that separates the two countries.

The official Korean Central News Agency said late Sunday that South Korean forces committed a “grave armed provocation” during the afternoon by firing toward a civil police post on the northern side of the demilitarized zone.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff denied the North’s claim.

North Korea regularly accuses the South of stoking tensions, which Seoul denies.

The two sides remain technically at war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.

Tensions occasionally turn bloody. The two sides have engaged in three deadly naval skirmishes since 1999, the most recent in November last year.