SEOUL – North Korea carried out live-fire drills on its western coast for the third consecutive day, escalating tensions near its contested maritime border with South Korea, Seoul’s military reported on Sunday.
According to Seoul’s military, North Korea conducted artillery fire with over 90 rounds north of Yeonpyeong island from 1600 to 1710 local time (0400 to 0510 GMT). The exercises were carried out within a buffer zone established in 2018 under a now-defunct tension-reducing deal, and Seoul accused North Korea of posing a threat to peace on the Korean Peninsula.
North Korea’s military confirmed conducting “maritime live-fire training” with 88 rounds of artillery but asserted that the drills were “directionally unrelated” to the maritime border. The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) carried a statement from North Korea’s military, stating that the exercises did not intentionally threaten South Korea and were part of the North’s normal training system.
No North Korean artillery shells crossed the de facto maritime border, known as the Northern Limit Line, into South Korean territory, and no casualties were reported, according to Yonhap news agency.
Residents on the South Korean border island of Yeonpyeong were advised to stay indoors due to the ongoing drills and the possibility of South Korean countermeasures. A text message sent to residents warned of North Korean gunfire being heard, with troops on Yeonpyeong Island responding.
In similar incidents on both Friday and Saturday, North Korea fired artillery rounds in the same area, near Yeonpyeong and Baengnyeong, two sparsely populated islands situated just south of the Northern Limit Line. The recurring military exercises raise concerns about heightened tensions in the region.
