North Korea Artillery Shot At The Managing Zone Between Koreas, South Korea: Real Violation Of Military Agreements

Illustration of South Korean artillery exercises. (Wikimedia Commons/Republic of Korea Armed Forces)

JAKARTA - The shooting of hundreds of North Korean artillery shells into the buffer zone with South Korea is seen as a real violation of the two countries' military agreements and must be stopped immediately.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said North Korea fired artillery shells into the buffer zone with South Korea designed to reduce tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

A total of about 100 artillery shells North Korea fired into the Yellow Sea at around 10 p.m., and another 150 rounds into the East Sea starting at 11 p.m. on Tuesday, according to the JCS.

Artillery shells fell into the eastern and western buffer zones north of the Northern Limit Line, which was set up under an inter-Korean agreement in 2018 to ease military tensions.

"Shooting artillery shells into the eastern and western buffer zones constitutes a marked violation of the September 19 military agreement, and we strongly urge North Korea to immediately stop its action, as North Korea's continued provocation is an act that undermines the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and the international community," the JCS said in a statement released., reported the Korea Times 19 October.

As previously reported, South Korea's military said North Korea fired artillery shells off the east and west coasts after Seoul began annual defense exercises aimed at improving its capability to respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.

Meanwhile, North Korea said the gunfire was designed to send a serious warning to South Korea in response to the firing of dozens of artillery shells on Tuesday between 9:55 a.m. and 17:22 p.m. local time.

"To send a serious warning once again, it ensures that the General Staff units of the Korean People's Army (KPA) on the east and west fronts, carry out threatening warning shots to the east and west seas on the night of October 18, as a strong military retaliation," he said in a statement released by state media KCNA as quoted by Reuters.

"The enemy must immediately stop reckless provocations and incite which increase military tensions in the frontiers," the statement stressed.

The annual defense exercise, which expires on Saturday, is the latest in a series of military exercises by South Korea in recent weeks, including joint activities with the United States and Japan.