Asia-Pacific News

Vietnam protests artillery fire on Korean Peninsula

Nov 24, 2010, 3:25 GMT

Hanoi - The Vietnamese government Wednesday protested the exchange of artillery fire between North and South Korea and called on both to resolve disputes through peaceful negotiation.

'Vietnam is deeply concerned about the artillery firing that occurred on November 23, 2010 on the Korean peninsula,' Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga said on the ministry website.

'Vietnam opposes the use of force or threatening to use force in international relations and any military action that causes harm to innocent civilians.'

Hanoi hopes the parties concerned could solve disputes through peaceful negotiations, she added.

North Korea's military on Tuesday fired artillery into the Yellow Sea near the border with South Korea. Several shells fell in South Korean territory, and South Korea returned fire.

The incident left two South Korean soldiers dead and 16 injured.

The armed forces of the communist North blamed the South for starting the incident. Seoul denied the allegation and accused Pyongyang of a deliberate provocation.

The exchange of fire comes at a time of tension between the two states over the North's controversial nuclear arms programme and the sinking of a South Korean naval vessel in March.

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