A North Korean ship crossed the disputed maritime border between the two countries, according to South Korean authorities on Monday (October 24th).
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L’South Korea’s military fired warning shots at a North Korean vessel on Monday morning, believing it had crossed the disputed sea border between the two countries, according to the Yonhap news agency. The North Korean cargo ship reportedly crossed the said Northern Limit Line, near Baengnyeong Island, at 3:42 a.m. local time and then retreated north after warning shots from the South Korean navy, it said. said the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to Yonhap. The agency also quoted Pyongyang’s military as saying a South Korean naval vessel breached the border minutes later and the North Korean military responded by firing 10 warning shots at it.
“APC Western Littoral Defense Units took a first countermeasure to powerfully repel the enemy warship by firing 10 multiple rocket launcher rounds towards territorial waters, where an enemy naval movement was detected, at 5:15 a.m.,” an APC staff spokesperson said in a statement. “We have once again issued a stern warning to the enemies behind maritime provocations which come in addition to artillery fire and the broadcasting of cross-border messages through loudspeakers,” a spokesperson for the army said. North Korean Army General Staff.
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The maritime border, considered a hot spot, has been the scene of several clashes between the two Koreas over the years. But tensions have escalated in recent weeks, with Pyongyang carrying out several missile launches and artillery barrages deemed provocative by South Korea and Japan. Pyongyang has dramatically increased its military maneuvers recently, as Seoul and Washington claim North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is set to carry out what would be his country’s seventh nuclear test.
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Monday’s warning firefight comes on the day Deputy US Secretary of State Wendy Sherman visits Japan for three-way talks with Tokyo and Seoul, both Washington allies, in a show of unity after the series of shots from North Korea. During October, Pyongyang engaged in displays of military force, launching a short-range ballistic missile, firing multiple artillery rounds and sending fighter jets close to the South Korean border. . The artillery fire took place in its waters on its east and west coasts, in violation of a “buffer zone” established during a 2018 agreement with the South to prevent incidents at sea. Pyongyang says it is responding to Seoul’s “provocations” and described the weapons tests as mock “tactical nuclear strikes” against targets in South Korea.