North Korea conducted live fire drills yesterday in two areas near a disputed sea border with South Korea that have been the scene of deadly clashes and where they fired hundreds of artillery rounds just weeks ago.
The North conducted similar drills late last month, firing more than 500 artillery rounds near the Northern Limit Line, a disputed maritime border.
More than 100 rounds landed south of the border during that drill, prompting South Korea to fire hundreds of rounds back into the North’s waters.
Photo: Reuters
The latest round of firing began at about 2pm yesterday. No rounds appeared to have landed south of the border, a South Korean military official said.
It came hours after the North notified South Korea of the areas near populated South Korean islands where it would conduct the exercise.
The Northern Limit Line is an extension of the land border between the two Koreas, stretching into the sea west of the Korean Peninsula. North Korea has refused to recognize the line as the sea border and has periodically challenged its neighbor by violating it and demanding a new border be set.
The line curves north, effectively isolating five remote, South Korean-controlled islands from the mainland. The furthest of those islands is closer to Pyongyang than Seoul.
South Korean military officials told residents to seek cover in one of many shelters around the islands, another South Korean official said.
South Korea increased its military presence on the islands after the 2010 bombardment of Yeonpyeong Island by the North, which it said was in response to South Korean artillery drills.
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