Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Friday said reports that Thai soldiers opened fire on five Cambodian women along the border in Surin province last week were incorrect.
Gen Prayut said Thai soldiers never fired on unarmed people at the border. A joint panel set up by the two countries would look into the claim, but he rejected it.
He was reacting to reports that five Cambodian women were shot at by Thai soldiers on Dec 9 when they crossed into Thai territory from O'smach district in Oddar Meanchey province, opposite Surin, to collect wild mushrooms and cassava. One woman was reported killed.
Phnom Penh sent a protest note to Thailand and called the shooting a ''barbaric act''.
Gen Prayut said the Thai-Cambodian border was, however, plagued by illegal logging, which led to fighting between soldiers and loggers.
Border issues were expected to be on the table at talks between the prime minister and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen later on Friday.
Hun Sen is in Bangkok for the summit of Mekong subregion leaders -- Thailand, Cambodia, China, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar.