North Korea fired more than 130 naval shells into its sea boundaries early on Monday in retaliation for South Korea executing a joint military drill with the United States, according to the Korean People’s Army (KPA).
An unidentified spokesperson for the KPA said in a statement that the barrage of artillery shells was fired between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. local time from multiple rocket launchers off its east and west coasts in what the official described as a “tit-for-tat” move, state-run KCNA news agency reported.
North Korea said it conducted its firing after detecting dozens of “projectiles” fired from South Korea near the shared border of the two Koreas, a claim denied by South Korea.
“The KPA General Staff makes it clear once again that it will settle accounts with all provocative actions of the enemy one by one and will always counter them with staunch and overwhelming military action,” the spokesperson said.
“The enemy side would be well advised to immediately stop their military action of escalating tension in the immediate vicinity of the front where it is within eyeshot,” he added. “We severely warn the enemy side to be prudent, not kindling the flame of escalation of tension unnecessary in the area around the front.”
South Korea said the artillery launch violated the 2018 inter-Korean agreement designed to reduce hostile military activities between the two Koreas because some of the shells landed within a maritime buffer zone near the sea border.
The 2018 Comprehensive Military Agreement (CMA) was the most substantive deal to come from the months of meetings between leader Kim Jong Un and then-South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
In response to the firing, South Korea has sent several warning communications to North Korea, the ministry of defense said in a statement, without giving any further details.
Extended Drills Amid North’s Launches
South Korea and the United States have stepped up joint military drills this year, saying they are necessary to deter a nuclear-armed North Korea.
On Dec. 5, the two allied nations conducted a joint land-based firing drill near the border in Cheorwon County in the middle of the peninsula, which will continue on Dec. 6.
North Korea has criticized U.S.-South Korea military exercises, describing them as an “invasion rehearsal.” In response to a joint drill in mid-October, the North fired more than 500 rounds into the sea within the buffer zone, which violated the 2018 agreement.
An increase in exercises between the United States and South Korea comes after reports emerged that North Korea has resumed testing its long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles for the first time since 2017, and has made preparations to resume nuclear testing as well.
In early November, North Korea demanded a pause to the increased drills, saying such “rashness and provocation can be no longer tolerated.” The United States, meanwhile, said that military exercises will continue amid concerns over a North Korean nuclear test.
“The priority should be on deterring the use of nuclear weapons by giving them a clear sense that if North Korea attempts to use nuclear weapons, it will bring about an end to the North Korean regime, and it will disappear completely,” South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup was quoted as saying by Yonhap News Agency in late October.
President Yoon Suk-yeol, who took office earlier this year, is seeking a tougher stance on North Korea and a stronger U.S. security commitment to the country’s defense as North Korea escalated its missile launches this year.
Reuters contributed to this report.