2011-08-11 09:14

SEOUL - Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said early on Thursday that blasts heard from its territory that led to retaliatory warning shots from the South on Wednesday were only the sounds of building work at a construction site.

"There was normal blasting in the area of South Hwanghae Province close to the five islands in the West Sea of Korea on August 10 as part of the brisk construction of a gigantic object aimed at improving the standard of people's living," KCNA state news agency reported.

In two separate incidents on Wednesday, the South issued verbal warnings and fired warning shots toward the maritime border.

South Korean military officials said it appeared the DPRK had been conducting drills off the west coast of the divided peninsula and that some shells had landed close to the maritime border.

"It was preposterous in the age of science when latest detecting and intelligence means are available that they mistook the blasting for shelling and they proved shells fell in the waters around the 'northern limit line' though no shells were fired," the KCNA report said.  

"It was a tragicomedy that they indiscriminately reacted to what happened with counter-shelling even without confirming the truth about the case in the sensitive waters of the West Sea of Korea."

The Northern Limit Line was unilaterally drawn up by the US military at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. It has been the scene of several deadly skirmishes over the past decade.

Tuesday's incident underscored that tensions still run deep on the divided peninsula, even as the two sides have started talks on the possible resumption of regional aid-for-disarmament dialogue.

The South's response came after the government was heavily criticised for failing to react with force last year when DPRK shelled one of its islands, Yeonpyeong, in the same area. Four people were killed, including two civilians.

Both sides also regularly conduct drills in the area.