The Republic of Korea (ROK) Defence Ministry said on Friday it believes that a border shootout between its soldiers and troops from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Thursday started accidentally.

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According to reports from national news agency Yonhap News, Hwang Young-soo, the ministry's spokesman, said it was likely that DPRK soldiers accidentally opened fire while checking their firearms in preparation for night shift, since there were no additional movements by the DPRK following the clash.

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On Thursday, DPRK soldiers opened fire on a ROK guard post inside the demilitarized zone, the buffer area between the two sides, and ROK soldiers immediately returned fire.

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The ROK said it suffered no casualties during the one- minute exchange, but it is unknown whether there were injuries among the DPRK soldiers.

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However, the spokesman did not rule out the possibility that the clash was intentional.

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The exchange of fire occurred on a ROK holiday, "Constitution Day."

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In another development, ROK President Roh Moo-hyun and visiting Australian Prime Minister John Howard agreed during summit talks on Friday to keep dialogue going with Pyongyang to resolve concerns over the DPRK's suspected nuclear programme.

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The two leaders reaffirmed that the nuclear row should be settled peacefully and said Seoul and Canberra will jointly push for multilateral dialogue on the issue.

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In related news, the ROK will still give the DPRK economic aid and even boost the amount it spends despite the border shooting incident, the ROK budget and planning minister Park Bong-heum said on Friday.

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Asked whether Thursday's exchange of gunfire would have an impact on aid, he said: "It is a separate issue which will be handled separately. The inter-Korean co-operation fund will be maintained and its focus is on providing humanitarian support and reuniting families."

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The minister said the government would increase its humanitarian aid and help close the gap between the two countries.

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But Park did not say how much funding would increase by. The government has allocated 1.4 trillion won (US$1.18 billion) for this year, down slightly from last year's 1.69 trillion (US$1.43 billion).

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(China Daily July 19, 2003)