North Korea fires over 130 artillery rounds in response to South Korea-US drills

More than 130 artillery shells had been fired by North Korea into the ocean off its east and west coasts in response to army drills by South Korea and the US throughout the border within the South.

Seoul,UPDATED: Dec 6, 2022 07:17 IST

North Korea has criticised the joint drills as proof of a hostile coverage by Washington and Seoul. (Photo: Reuters)

By Reuters:

North Korea mentioned it fired greater than 130 artillery shells into the ocean off its east and west coasts on Monday after detecting army drills throughout the border within the South.

Some of the shells landed in a buffer zone close to the ocean border in what Seoul mentioned was a violation of a 2018 inter-Korean settlement designed to scale back tensions.

The South Korean army despatched a number of warning communications to the North over the firing, the ministry of defence mentioned in an announcement.

North Korea’s army performed its firing after detecting dozens of “projectiles” fired within the South close to the shared border, state information company KCNA reported, citing a spokesperson of the General Staff of the Korean People’s Army.

“The enemy should immediately cease military actions that cause escalation of tensions in areas near the front lines where visual surveillance is possible,” the unnamed spokesperson mentioned, warning that the North would reply firmly and with overwhelming army motion to any provocation.

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South Korea and the United States had been conducting a joint land-based firing drill close to the border in Cheorwon County in the midst of the peninsula on Monday. Their drill will proceed on Tuesday.

The allies have stepped up joint army workout routines this yr, saying they’re needed to discourage the nuclear-armed North, which has resumed testing of its long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles for the primary time since 2017, and has made preparations to renew nuclear testing as nicely.

North Korea has criticised the joint drills as proof of a hostile coverage by Washington and Seoul.

The 2018 Comprehensive Military Agreement (CMA) was probably the most substantive deal to come back from the months of conferences between chief Kim Jong Un and then-South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

With these talks lengthy stalled, nonetheless, current drills and reveals of drive alongside the fortified border between the Koreas have forged doubts on the way forward for the measures.

South Korea has accused the North of repeatedly violating the settlement with artillery drills this yr, together with in the future in mid-October when greater than 500 rounds had been fired into the ocean.

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Published On:

Dec 6, 2022