Fresh tension began to rise in the Korean peninsula after South Korea on Monday detected that North Korea fired about 130 artillery shells into a maritime buffer zone.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff in a statement on Monday indicated that North Korea fired about 130 artillery shells simultaneously at 2:59 pm (0559 GMT) from two separate sites, one on the east coast and one on the west coast.
South Korea’s military declared that the Artillery shelling was a “clear violation” of the 2018 agreement between the North and South that established the buffer zone towards reducing tensions.
South Korea, however, noted that none of the artillery shells crossed the Northern Limit Line, the de facto maritime border.
The South Korea military issued “several warnings” over the shelling.
According to the statement, “Our military is strengthening its readiness posture in preparation for emergencies, while tracking and monitoring related developments under close cooperation between South Korea and the United States.”
North Korea has since the beginning of 2022 launched several ballistic missiles, including ICBM, in the Peninsula, while South Korea had sustained joint military drills with the United States.
North Korea military had said that , the Artillery shelling was a “tit for tat warning” against what it described as multiple artillery firings by South Korea.
The General Staff of the North Korean People’s Army, through his spokesperson, in a statement, indicated that “dozens of projectiles supposed to be the shells of multiple rocket launchers” had been fired by the South on Monday.
A statement by the official Korean Central News Agency indicated that North Korea’s army “will always take account of all provocative actions of the enemy and respond with resolute and overwhelming military action.”