North Korea fires artillery shells into sea as South Korea drills continue
North Korea’s military has fired artillery shells into the sea off the country’s east coast in response to the firing of rocket launchers by South Korea in joint drills with the United States, South Korean military sources said Tuesday.
The firing of several dozens of rounds from Kangwon Province follows similar shelling by the North the previous day and further heightened border tensions as live-fire drills by the South Korean and U.S. militaries continue near the inter-Korean border.
Earlier in the day, a spokesman for the General Staff of the Korean People’s Army said it delivered the order to commence live shell firing as a warning, maintaining South Korea “must immediately stop the provocative military actions” in the area close to the border, according to the Korean Central News Agency report.
The spokesman said South Korea’s military fired multiple rocket launchers and howitzer guns at around 9:15 Tuesday, according to the report.
On Monday, South Korea’s military said it detected about 130 artillery shells fired off North Korea’s east and west coasts in violation of a 2018 inter-Korean agreement designed to reduce border tensions.