North Korea fires artillery shells near sea border, says South Korean military

New Delhi

North Korea once again fired artillery shells off its west and east coasts hours after South Korea’s military began its annual field exercises. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the firing took place late on Tuesday as 100 shells were fired off the west coast and 150 were filed off the east coast. 

While the firing went on for quite some time, South Korea confirmed that none of the shells landed on their territory. However, there were some which landed in the buffer zone which was established between South Korea and North Korea as part of the inter-Korean agreement signed back in 2018. 

Also read | French cement firm Lafarge pleads guilty to supporting Syrian terror groups, fined $780 million

The firing was a clear response to the military drills held by South Korea which were aimed at developing defence tactics in response to any North Korean attack. The South Korean military was assisted by the United States army in the drills as part of the long-standing partnership between the two nations. 

The relationship has caused severe problems for North Korea which condemned the recent “dangerous military drills” involving US warships, reported Reuters. In response, Pyongyang tested 15 missiles in the past two weeks including a ballistic missile that flew over Japan. 

Also read | Ukraine-Russia war LIVE | German cybersecurity chief sacked over Russia ties

The situation was worsened by the visit of US Vice President Kamala Harris to Seoul as she reaffirmed support for South Korea and said that US will assist them in the conflict with North Korea. 

This was the second time that North Korea dropped shells in the buffer zone between the countries and Seoul issued a warning against "provocations that undermine peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula”.