N. Korea's artillery shells fell near de facto maritime border: source
Coastal artillery bunkers in North Korea are seen from an observatory on Yeonpyeong Island, a South Korean border island in the West Sea, Jan. 7. Yonhap
Some of the artillery shells recently fired by the North Korean military fell just above the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the Yellow Sea, a military source said Sunday, stoking tension on the tensely guarded western border, where past naval skirmishes have taken place.
North Korea fired some 200 artillery shells from its southwestern coastal areas Friday, prompting the South Korean troops on the front-line islands of Yeonpyeong and Baengnyeong to stage live-fire drills in response.
Most of the North Korean shells splashed into the maritime buffer zone, with some falling in waters as close as 7 kilometers north of the NLL, according to the source.
The latest saber-rattling came after Pyongyang in November vowed to restore military measures halted under a 2018 inter-Korean military agreement, which set up buffer zones in land, sea and air and banned live-fire drills near the border area to prevent accidental clashes.
"As North Korea vowed to scrap the inter-Korean military pact and conducted live-fire drills near the maritime buffer zone, mutually agreed buffer zones that ban hostile acts no longer exist," a military official said, asking for anonymity.
The South Korean military is considering taking corresponding measures when North Korea's artillery shells cross the NLL or land near the de facto maritime border, according to the official.
North Korea's Friday artillery firing marked the 16th one of its kind, including a missile launch in December 2022. The South Korean military conducted live-fire drills near the maritime buffer zone for the first time since the signing of the 2018 pact.
On Saturday, the North carried out live-fire drills for the second consecutive day to fire around 60 shells from the western coast, which landed in the maritime buffer zone above the NLL, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.
The South Korean military didn't conduct live-fire drills in response, considering them less threatening compared with Friday's exercise, military officials said.
On Sunday, Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, claimed the North conducted a "deceptive operation" by detonating explosives simulating the sound of 130 millimeters coastal artillery the previous day, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency.
The vice department director of the ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee said the deceptive operation was aimed at exposing the South Korean military's detection capability, warning of "immediate actions" if the South provokes.
In response, the JCS called Kim's statement on the South Korean military's detection capability "psychological warfare," urging the North to cease acts that escalate tension in the border area.
Naval skirmishes between South and North Korea took place near the western maritime border in 1999, 2002 and 2009.
In 2010, North Korea fired a barrage of artillery shells on Yeonpyeong Island, killing two South Korean Marines and two civilians.
The North has contested the legitimacy of the NLL — drawn unilaterally by the U.S.-led U.N. Command after the 1950-53 Korean War — in recent decades and has demanded that it be redrawn, a request that the South has rejected. (Yonhap)
(责任编辑:产品中心)
- The Apple iPod: Pocket Music Before That Phone
- Samsung's massive 8K QLED to hit stores in October
- Hummel tones down logo on Denmark's Qatar World Cup kit
- Family vlog channel sells creepily lifelike dolls modeled after their newborn baby
- 17 Places That Harness the Power of the Sun
- Scientists detect water sloshing on Mars. There could be a lot.
- 念好“润”字诀,共绘“同心圆”
- How to watch Apple unveil its new iPhones on Sept. 12
- South Korea to upgrade surveillance equipment at DMZ
- Tesla reveals Cybertruck has sold more than DeLorean
- 国道318线天全境内断道
- U.S. Army chief to visit Korea amid THAAD tensions
- [Newsmaker] Rise of Park ally to reopen Saenuri divide
-
Max B. Sawicky ,August 6, 2024 Courting Di ...[详细]
-
Former Navy chief acquitted of corruption allegations
A local court on Thursday acquitted a former Navy chief who was indicted on charges of unlawfully gr ...[详细] -
David Beckham reveals the secret to his long
LONDON -- There are many, many famous celebrity couples out there, but you could probably count the ...[详细] -
Radio rage for Verstappen in Singapore
LONDON:Formula One championship leader Max Verstappen gave Red Bull a blast of radio rage after the ...[详细] -
Sinner vs. Michelsen 2024 livestream: Watch US Open for free
TL;DR:Live stream Sinner vs. Michelsen in the 2024 US Open for free on 9Now or TVNZ+. Access these f ...[详细] -
图集丨气清景明 绿意盎然_南方+_南方plus最美人间四月天。告别三月的微凉,在四月的暖阳里,万物复苏,绿意浮现,形成了春的主调。广东的春天,有嫩芽般浅浅的绿,也有带着微酸的黄;是木棉花火焰般的红,也 ...[详细]
-
Sevilla, Atletico battle to hold on to progress
BARCELONA:Atletico Madrid and Sevilla have cut ground on Spain's traditional giants Real Madrid ...[详细] -
Otto Warmbier's parents to get $240,300 seized from North Korea
American student Otto Warmbier is escorted to the Supreme Court in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this M ...[详细] -
Input devices like keyboards have a key role in the computing and gaming landscape, so the guts of t ...[详细]
-
雅安日报讯 根据中华全国总工会、省总工会的安排部署和省国防工会的要求,日前,中国长安汽车集团股份有限公司四川建安车桥分公司以下简称“建安公司”)举行了2010年会员评家、年度工作考核暨共青团工作表彰大 ...[详细]
- 29 Dive Bars, Saloons, and Taverns Where the Vibe Is Unbeatable
- 'Big Bang Theory' actor brings #MuslimBan protests to the red carpet
- Seoul monitoring Pyongyang with 'sense of tension,' stresses need for dialogue
- Huawei embraces sliding phones with Honor Magic 2
- 9 Planetariums to Get Lost in the Cosmos
- How much you can get for your iPhone X, 8, and 8 Plus
- Kyrgios seeks assault dismissal: reports