South Korea’s military condemned its northern neighbor on Friday after Pyongyang fired artillery rounds that fell within a maritime buffer zone that has long been a flashpoint between the two.
North Korea fired more than 200 rounds between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m off its west coast, near South Korea’s Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong islands, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), CNN reported.
The artillery fell north of the Northern Limit Line (NLL), a disputed de facto border drawn up by the United Nations at the end of the Korean War in 1953.
The incoming rounds did not harm any civilians or military, the JCS added, calling the incident a “provocative act that threatens peace and heightens tension on the Korean Peninsula.”
In response South Korea’s military said it would hold its own maritime shooting exercise on Friday afternoon, with Yeonpyeong residents ordered to evacuate to nearby shelters during that time and “refrain from doing outdoor activities,” according to a government website message, and a local resident who told CNN they received the same message via text.
It is not unprecedented for North Korea to fire shells into the maritime buffer zone but such acts do raise tensions.
MNA/PR
