North Korea has been conducting “direct war drills” near the border with South Korea for the third consecutive day, according to South Korean media reports.
According to South Korean media Yonhap, North Korea conducted a series of drills near its heavily guarded western border on Sunday, firing approximately 90 artillery shots into waters off its western coast, as reported by South Korea’s military.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) announced that artillery firings have been detected in the maritime buffer zone north of the Northern Limit Line, according to a report from Yonhap. The Northern Limit Line acts as the de-facto maritime border in the Yellow Sea. Furthermore, these firings specifically targeted Yeonpyeong, South Korea’s border island, and took place from 4 p.m. to 5:10 p.m.
The drills have sparked alarm and evacuation orders on two South Korean islands, Yeonpyeong and Bangnyeong, which are close to the disputed maritime boundary between the two countries.
On Friday, North Korea fired more than 200 artillery shells near the islands, some of which landed in the intermediate zone that was established under a de-escalation agreement in 2018, according to Yonhap news agency . The agreement was violated by North Korea last November, when it launched a spy satellite into orbit.
On Sunday, residents of Yeonpyeong were warned to stay indoors as North Korea carried out “live fire drills” near the sea border, according to Yonhap.
Kim’s powerful sister refutes claims of North Korea firing rounds near the border
However, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Kim Yo Jong, has denied that Pyongyang fired any shells near the border. In a statement released by the North Korean News Agency (KCNA), she claimed that the North Korean military detonated ordinary explosives by simulating the sound of 60 gunshots and watched the reaction of the South Korean military.
“The result was as we expected”, she said, “They mistook the sound of explosives for gunshots, thought it was artillery fire and blatantly lied.”
She also mocked the South Korean military, saying, “In the future, they will mistake even the sound of thunder in the northern sky as our army’s artillery fire.”
The drills come amid heightened tensions between the two Koreas, which have reached their lowest point in decades since Kim Jong Un declared his country a nuclear power last year and tested a highly advanced intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
At a policy meeting in Pyongyang at the end of last year, Kim threatened a nuclear attack on South Korea and called for his country to build up its military arsenal before armed conflict.
South Korea has condemned the North’s provocations and urged it to return to dialogue and abide by the agreements. The United States, which is a close ally of South Korea, has also expressed concern over the situation and reaffirmed its commitment to the defense of its partner.
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