By J.T. Quigley
Artillery shells land on both sides of the Northern Limit Line as tensions reach a boiling point.
After a North Korean military drill sent artillery shells across its disputed western maritime border with the South, Seoul responded by scrambling fighter jets and returning fire into the Yellow Sea.
South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency said that the North fired approximately 500 shells into the water near the Northern Limit Line (NLL) between noon and 3:30 p.m. on Monday. After an estimated 100 rounds landed on the south side of the NLL, the South Korean military responded with 300 shells fired from its K-9 self-propelled howitzers. F-15 fighter jets were also sent to patrol the southern side of the border.
Pyongyang warned Seoul of its intention to perform the live-fire drills near the NLL by fax. All of the rounds landed in the sea and no injuries or casualties have been reported.
“The South Korean and U.S. forces have stepped up their surveillance and vigilance with increased military assets in all parts of the nation to prepare for possible provocations,” said South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok. “If North Korea uses the live-fire drill as an excuse to launch provocations near South Korean islands and shores, we will sternly respond.”
Read the full story at The Diplomat