North Korea fired artillery shells on the sea border with South Korea on Wednesday for the second day in a row, which began annual military exercises on Monday with the participation of US forces.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the Pyongyang regime fired about 100 projectiles on the west coast at around 12:30 p.m. (4:30 a.m. Lisbon time), which fell into the sea.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff again insisted that this artillery fire is “a clear violation” of a 2018 military agreement, in which the two countries promised to avoid maneuvers or exercises with live fire in waters close to maritime borders.
As of Tuesday, North Korea had fired about 100 projectiles on the west coast and 150 on the east coast.
Regarding the latest shooting, Pyongyang said it was a “serious warning” and a response to annual military exercises that Seoul has begun.
The North Korean military added, in a statement issued hours after the shooting, that it had ordered units in the country’s east and west to fire “threatening and warning shots” into the sea.
A spokesman for the Northern General Staff said the goal was to serve as “a powerful military countermeasure” to the South’s military exercises along the eastern border, considered “a provocation” by Pyongyang.
“The situation on the Korean Peninsula is worsening due to repeated military provocations by enemies in the forward area,” the North Korean statement said.
“Enemies must immediately stop reckless and inciting provocations that increase military tension,” the North Korean military spokesman added.
This is the second time North Korea has fired projectiles at border areas since Friday, when it fired hundreds of projectiles, in direct violation of the 2018 agreement.
On Monday, the South Korean military began 12-day field exercises to improve operational capabilities in response to various kinds of North Korean provocations, with the participation of US forces.
Technically, the two Koreas are still at war, as the 1950-53 conflict ended with the signing of an armistice rather than a peace treaty.
Source: TSF
