Shots fired at tense Korean border

Seoul: Gunfire rang out on Saturday along the heavily armed no man's land separating the divided Koreas, as regional tensions mounted in anticipation of communist North Korea's plan to test its first atomic bomb.

South Korean soldiers fired 60 shots as a warning after five North Korean soldiers crossed a boundary in the Demilitarized Zone separating the two country's forces, South Korean military officials said.

It was unclear whether the North Korean advance was intended as a provocation, or was rather an attempt to go fishing at a nearby stream, an official at South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said on condition of anonymity, citing official policy.

Four of the North Koreans were unarmed and the fifth carried a rifle, the official said. No one was hurt, and the North Koreans retreated.

While such border skirmishes are not unheard of, they are relatively rare. Saturday's incursion was only the second this year, the official said. The North sometimes orchestrates border skirmishes to jack up tensions at sensitive moments in international standoffs.

Earlier in the day, North Korea's neighbours applauded a UN Security Council statement warning the country not to follow through on its threats to test its first nuclear weapon, perhaps as early as Sunday. Japan said it will push for punitive measures if Pyongyang doesn't heed international opinion.

The statement adopted by the council on Friday also called on North Korea to return immediately to talks on scrapping its nuclear weapons program or face unspecified consequences.

South Korea's Foreign Ministry issued a statement Saturday saying it supported the appeal and also urging its isolated, communist neighbour to resume the long-stalled six-nation talks.

"North Korea must clearly recognize that a nuclear test would not help the North itself in any way," South Korea said. "North Korea should be held responsible for any consequences that could be caused by a test."

Stepping up shuttle diplomacy, South Korea's nuclear envoy said he will visit Beijing on Monday for two days of talks with Chinese officials about the nuclear test.