North Korea shelled maritime buffer zone in response to exercises by South Korea and US

On Monday, North Korea fired about 130 artillery rounds toward the eastern and western maritime buffer zones in response to South Korea and the United States conducting live-fire military exercises in the border region.

This is reported by Yonhap, Rubryka writes.

According to the data of the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the North Korean artillery shelling was probably carried out using rocket salvo systems.

The shells hit the maritime buffer zones north of the Northern Demarcation Line (the de facto maritime border), established under the September 19, 2018 military agreement between Seoul and Pyongyang.

"The artillery shelling of the eastern and western maritime buffer zones is a clear violation of the military agreement of September 19, and we strongly call on the North to stop them immediately," South Korea's Korean Central Command said in a statement.

Pyongyang, in turn, confirmed that it fired artillery in response to military exercises of South Korea and the United States and called on Seoul to "stop escalating tensions" by conducting military operations near the border.

In 2022, North Korea carried out a record number of missile tests in recent times, and also raised aircraft, and carried out artillery fire near the South Korean border.

South Korea and the United States believe that Pyongyang may be preparing to carry out a nuclear test — the seventh since 2006.