November 24, 1984

North Korean troops and soldiers of the United Nations Command opened fire on each other Friday in a clash that erupted over an apparent defection by a Soviet citizen at the Demilitarized Zone. It was the most serious incident at the Panmunjom truce village in eight years. At least two North Korean soldiers and one South Korean were reported killed, and an American soldier, identified as Pfc. Michael A. Burgoyne, 20 years old, of Portland, Mich., was wounded. A military spokesman said Friday night that the condition of the American soldier was ''stable.''

The Administration said today that ''mutual restraint'' in such areas as the deployment of new nuclear missiles in Europe would be an appropriate item for discussion when arms control talks are renewed with the Soviet Union. A spokesman for President Reagan made the comment in response to reports that the Administration had already decided to slow the rate of deployment of the Pershing 2, one of two types of medium-range missiles that are being installed in Western Europe. ''There are no preconditions and no change in our deployment schedule,'' said the spokesman, Marlin M. Fitzwater. ''We do, however, believe that mutual restraint is an appropriate item in the talks.''

Doctors in Louisville, Ky., said last night that they had selected a 52-year- old man to be the recipient of the second permanent artificial heart and that they planned to implant it in him Sunday morning. The man, William J. Schroeder, is a retired quality assurance specialist and Army ammunition depot worker from Jasper, a town in southern Indiana. He and his wife, Margaret, have been married 32 years and they have six children, ranging in age from 19 to 31, and five grandchildren. Mr. Schroeder (pronounced SHRAY- der) is recuperating from gall bladder surgery he underwent Nov. 17, one day after he was unanimously chosen for an artificial heart by a selection committee at Humana Heart Institute International, where the operation is be performed at 8 A.M. Eastern standard time.

Delegates to Unesco said here today that a decision by Britain to withdraw from the agency unless major changes were made could threaten Unesco's survival in the long term. In announcing the plan, the British Foreign Secretary, Sir Geoffrey Howe, told Parliament that Britain was not satisfied that it was getting its money's worth from the agency, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. He said Britain intended to quit by 1985 unless there was clear evidence the agency was moving to change itself. The move, combined with a decision by the Reagan Administration to leave the organization next month, is regarded as the most intense attack ever made by member nations on a part of the United Nations system.

Regular ferryboat service between New York and New Jersey would resume after nearly two decades under a proposal being completed for the Port Authority. ''The decision will be reached in the next two to three months,'' Alan Sagner, the chairman of the agency's Board of Commissioners, said in an interview. ''I'm a little concerned about saying it's for sure, but that's my conclusion based on the data they've given me so far.'' Mr. Sagner said that passenger ferry service could begin in 1987 and that a full complement of four boats could be plying the Hudson River between Hoboken and Battery Park by 1988.