BULLETS whizzed across the 38th parallel today after South Korean activists released anti-Pyongyang propaganda balloons.

North Korea opened fire nearly two hours after the leaflet-carrying inflatables were unleashed, with several machine gun bullets falling south of the border, Seoul Defence Ministry spokesman Kim Min Seok said.

South Korean troops responded with 40 rounds from machine guns, drawing rifle fire from the North, said Mr Kim, adding that the southern troops responded in kind.