North Korea has fired artillery into South Korea for the first time since 2010, and threatened further action if a recently launched propaganda campaign is not halted, Seoul said on Thursday.
The ministry said a North Korean rocket exploded in a border area at 3.25pm on Thursday, without causing casualties. It said South Korean artillery responded with dozens of rounds aimed at the presumed source of the rocket.
The exchange comes at a time of particular strain in inter-Korean relations, after Seoul last week accused North Korea of laying three mines on the southern edge of the demilitarised zone that divides the states. The mines were detonated by a South Korean army patrol and maimed two soldiers.