Shots fired from North Korea believed to be ‘accidental,’ Pompeo claims

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says shots fired earlier today from North Korea towards the South in the DMZ that divides the peninsula are believed to have been “accidental.”

“Handful of shots came across from the north; we think those were accidental,” he says on ABC’s “This Week.”

“South Koreans did return fire. There was no loss of life on either side,” he adds.

The border incident comes a day after North Korean state media said Kim Jong Un had made his first public appearance after a nearly three-week unexplained absence from public view.

Pompeo declines to comment on what the US knew about the North Korean leader’s absence, or whether it was linked to a rumored health issue.

“We have seen the same images from yesterday that the world saw. It looks like Chairman Kim is alive and well,” he says.

“Our mission remains the same, to convince the North Koreans to give up their nuclear weapons and create a brighter future for the North Korean people.”

— AFP