North Korea conducted a fresh round of artillery drills near the disputed sea boundary with South Korea on Saturday. South Korean officials reported that the provocative move came just a day after North Korea's earlier exercises, prompting a swift response from the South, according to news agency Associated Press. The Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul released a statement disclosing that North Korea fired more than 60 rounds near the western sea boundary on Saturday afternoon. Expressing concern, South Korea strongly urged North Korea to refrain from actions that intensify tensions in the region, AP's report stated.
"If North Korea continues artillery drills that pose a threat to South Korean nationals, we will take corresponding military steps," warned the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as quoted by the report. They asserted that South Korea is prepared to "overwhelmingly" respond to any provocations by North Korea.
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The latest developments follow Friday's artillery exchange, during which North Korea fired approximately 200 artillery shells near the disputed area. In response, South Korea's Defense Ministry revealed that its troops on two border islands fired artillery rounds south of the sea boundary, with reports suggesting that South Korea fired a total of 400 rounds.
Prior to the South Korean drills, authorities took precautionary measures, urging residents on five major islands near the western sea boundary to evacuate to safer locations amid concerns that North Korea might retaliate. The evacuation order was lifted a few hours later, AP reported.
North Korea's Kim Jong Un Calls For Increasing Missile Launcher Production
Additionally, on Friday, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) informed that North Korean autocrat Kim Jong Un called for the ramping up of missile launcher production. The move was described as a response to the "prevailing grave situation that requires the country to be more firmly prepared for a military showdown with the enemy."
Kim's comments came on the heels of accusations from the White House, accusing North Korea of providing Russia with ballistic missiles and missile launchers used in recent attacks on Ukraine, news agency AFP reported. Washington has labeled this as an escalation of Pyongyang's support for Moscow.
The two Koreas remain technically at war since the 1950-53 conflict had concluded in an armistice, not a treaty. Most of the border between the two Koreas is heavily fortified and their contested maritime border was never officially delineated.
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