At the sea border
North Korea fires more than 200 projectiles into the sea – South Korea reacts
South Korea responded to the missiles from North Korea with live ammunition
© Handout/South Korean Defense Ministry / AFP
North Korea is once again flexing its muscles – not with a missile test, but with live projectiles. The reaction from South Korea did not take long to arrive.
According to South Korean information, North Korea’s military fired more than 200 artillery shells near the disputed maritime border between the two hostile states. The missiles fell into the Yellow Sea north of the maritime border line, the general staff in South Korea said on Friday. The grenades caused no damage. Residents of two South Korean islands were asked to seek safety as a precaution. According to its defense ministry, South Korea responded with “appropriate” live-fire exercises. Regarding the North’s artillery fire, a spokesman for the South Korean General Staff said: “This is an act of provocation that increases tensions and threatens peace on the Korean Peninsula.” North Korea must “immediately stop these actions,” the Defense Ministry demanded in a statement.
Experts say it is not unusual for North Korea to use artillery in the area as part of its winter maneuvers. The difference from previous years, however, is that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has announced a tougher approach towards the South and officially views the neighbor as an enemy. Kim had ruled out the possibility of a reunion just last week.
Clashes between North and South Korea
The de facto maritime border off the west coast of the Korean peninsula was drawn in 1953 after the Korean War, for which there is only a ceasefire to date. There have been repeated clashes between North and South Korea at the so-called Northern Border Line (NLL). In 2010, North Korea fired several dozen artillery shells at Yeonpyeong Island, just south of the NLL. Two soldiers and two civilians died.
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On Friday, residents of Yeonpyeong and another island, Baengnyeong, were urged by the South Korean military to seek safety. Marine brigades stationed on the islands then fired live fire Ammunition on the southern part of the NLL, as the Ministry of Defense in Seoul announced. Just over 2,000 residents and soldiers stationed there live on Yeonpyeong. The island is located around 120 kilometers west of Seoul and the ferry ride there takes more than two and a half hours.
According to Yonhap, the armed forces of South Korea and the United States also began an artillery exercise near the border with North Korea on Thursday. The area around the maritime border has been the scene of repeated battles between warships from both countries in the past.