SEOUL: North Korea has carried out live-fire drills on its western coast for the third consecutive day, near the disputed maritime border with South Korea, as reported by Yonhap news agency.
The military exercises were conducted north of South Korea’s front-line island of Yeonpyeong, beginning around 4 pm (0700 GMT). Fortunately, no North Korean artillery shells crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto maritime border in the Yellow Sea, and there have been no reported casualties.
Residents on South Korea’s border island of Yeonpyeong were cautioned to stay indoors due to the ongoing drills and potential countermeasures from South Korea. A text message sent to all residents confirmed the sounds of North Korean gunfire, with South Korean troops on Yeonpyeong Island responding to the situation. While no immediate threat was posed, residents were advised to be cautious about outdoor activities.
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This latest series of military exercises follows similar live-fire drills on the previous two days, with North Korea firing artillery rounds near Yeonpyeong and Baengnyeong, two sparsely populated islands just south of the de facto maritime border. On Friday, the situation escalated to the point where residents were ordered to evacuate to shelters, and ferry services were suspended, marking one of the most serious military escalations on the Korean Peninsula since 2010.
#BREAKING North Korea conducting live-fire drills near maritime border with South: Yonhap news agency pic.twitter.com/4Q4pXeLzVt
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) January 7, 2024
North Korea’s live-fire drills occurred within a buffer zone established under a 2018 tension-reducing deal, which collapsed in November after North Korea launched a spy satellite. Responding to Seoul’s claims about firing artillery rounds near the border, Kim Jong Un’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, denied the allegations, describing it as a “deceptive operation.” She asserted that North Korea’s military had detonated explosives simulating gunfire sounds to observe South Korean forces’ reactions, emphasizing that no shells were fired into the water area.
The recent events have further strained relations between North and South Korea, with tensions escalating last year when Kim Jong Un declared his country a nuclear power and test-fired advanced ICBMs. At year-end policy meetings, Kim threatened a nuclear attack on the South and called for a military arsenal buildup in preparation for armed conflict, heightening concerns about the already precarious situation on the Korean Peninsula.
