North Korea fires 130 artillery shells near sea border with South

Seoul, Dec 5 (EFE).- North Korea on Monday fired some 130 artillery shells in waters close to its sea boundary with the South, the South Korean military said.

The North Korean army began firing the artillery shells from the provinces of Kangwon and South Hwanghae at 2:59 pm, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement.

The firings are believed to have involved multiple rocket launchers, the JCS added.

The artillery shells ended up in the maritime buffer zones north of the Northern Limit Line, a de facto sea border, that were set a military agreement between both countries in 2018.

Under the agreement, both Koreas had promised to avoid maneuvers or live fire drills in those areas, according to the JCS.

The JCS urged the North to halt the “provocation,” which it called a violation of the 2018 accord.

It added that the military was continuing to monitor Pyongyang’s movements and strengthen its military preparation.

The South Korean army also announced on Monday that it would conduct live-fire drills, involving multiple rocket launchers and other assets, at border units until Wednesday.

The latest North Korean action takes place after Seoul, Washington and Tokyo last week announced new sanctions on North Korean individuals and institutions linked to its weapons development program.

These sanctions were imposed in response to the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile by the North on Nov. 18.

Tensions in the Korean peninsula have escalated due to a record number of weapons tests by Pyongyang this year. EFE

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