South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff(JCS) says the North Korean military fired AK-47 rounds at the North Korean soldier who defected to the South on Monday across the heavily guarded Joint Security Area(JSA).

A senior JCS official said Tuesday that the North Korean soldier underwent emergency surgery for nearly two-and-a-half hours on Monday afternoon and five bullets were removed from his body.

The official said the bullets were from handguns and AK-47 assault rifles, noting that carrying assault rifles within the JSA is a violation of the armistice agreement.

The North Korean military is believed to have distributed AK-47s to soldiers at North Korean military guard posts at the truce village of Panmunjom.

The official said the South Korean military has yet to confirm whether the North Korean soldiers' shooting left any bullet marks on the South Korean side of the Military Demarcation Line(MDL).