S. Korea: 2 Koreas exchange gunfire along heavily fortified border; no reports of casualties

FILE - In this June 30, 2014 file photo, South Korean army soldiers patrol through the military wire fence in Paju, near the border with North Korea, South Korea. Border guards of the rival Koreas exchanged gunfire Sunday, Oct. 19, 2014, along their heavily fortified border in the second such shootout in less than 10 days, South Korean officials said. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Sept. 17, 2014 file photo, South Korean army soldiers stand guard at a military check point at the Imjingak Pavilion near the border village of Panmunjom, which has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War, in Paju, South Korea. Border guards of the rival Koreas exchanged gunfire Sunday, Oct. 19, 2014 along their heavily fortified border in the second such shootout in less than 10 days, South Korean officials said.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File) (The Associated Press)

SEOUL, South Korea – South Korean officials say border guards of the rival Koreas have exchanged gunfire along their heavily fortified border in the second such shootout in less than 10 days.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff says in a statement that Sunday's shootout occurred after about 10 North Korean soldiers approached the military demarcation line inside the Demilitarized Zone bisecting the Korean peninsula.

South Korean defense officials say the firing lasted about 10 minutes and the North Korean soldiers returned to the North after the incident. They say there have been no reports of casualties.

The two Koreas also traded gunfire along the border on Oct. 10, after South Korean activists floated balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets. There were no reports of casualties from that incident either.