South Korean Soldier Fires Machine Gun Accidentally Near Korean Border, Media Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - A South Korean soldier mistakenly opened fire during a training along the border with North Korea on Saturday, prompting Seoul to inform Pyongyang that the shooting was not intentional, media reported.

The soldier reportedly fired four live rounds from a machine gun during an army unit training session at one of the observation posts in the demilitarized zone in the province of Gangwon-do at 6:27 p.m. Saturday (9:27 GMT), during which no firing was envisioned, South Korean news agency reported Sunday, citing military sources.

All of the bullets landed on the South Korean side of the Military Demarcation Line, the report read.

"No particular signs have been seen from the North Korean side, and an investigation is under way over the exact circumstances of the incident," an official of the unit said, as quoted by the agency.

In May 2020, at least four bullets from North Korea hit a South Korean outpost in the central part of the the 4-kilometer-wide demilitarized zone, prompting South Korean troops to fire back and marking the first firefight between South and North Korea in many years.