Tensions escalate when North Korea shells disputed sea boundary, South Korea responds
North Korea reportedly conducted artillery drills again this Saturday near a disputed sea boundary with South Korea, a day after conducting drills near the same boundary.
“The North’s back-to-back firing exercises come after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un repeatedly called for stronger war readiness to cope with what he called deepening confrontation led by the U.S,” according to NPR.
“Experts say North Korea is likely to continue its provocative run of weapons tests to boost its leverage in potential future negotiations with Washington as the U.S. heads into November elections,” NPR reported Saturday.
On Saturday #NorthKorea fired coastal artillery for the second consecutive day, firing more than 60 shells near Yeonpyeong Island, the Yonhap news agency reported. pic.twitter.com/D5fvCopQPR
— E Chidambaram. (@JaiRam92739628) January 6, 2024
In a statement, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea fired over 60 rounds on Saturday, urged its northern neighbor to stop the acts of aggression, and warned they’ll react “overwhelmingly” to any further provocations by the rogue regime.
The artillery drills came a day after North Korea conducted an original set of artillery drills, firing an estimated 200 shells into the disputed sea border. In response, the South Korean Defense Ministry fired 400 rounds after conducting several evacuations.
“Ahead of the South Korean drills, South Korean authorities asked residents on five major islands near the western sea boundary to evacuate to safe places due to worries that North Korea would fire back. The evacuation order was lifted a few hours later,” NPR notes.
BREAKING:
South Korea fired 400 artillery shells into the maritime border with North Korea in response to the 200 shells fired by North Korea. pic.twitter.com/BFm1KkMzpF
— Globe Eye News (@GlobeEyeNews) January 6, 2024
“We gravely warn that the entire responsibility of such crisis-escalating situations lies with North Korea and strongly call for its immediate halt,” South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson Col. Lee Sung-jun said at a Friday press conference.
“Under close coordination between South Korea and the United States, our military is tracking and monitoring related activity, and will conduct corresponding measures to North Korea’s provocations,” he added.
Both Friday and Saturday’s artillery drills were reportedly a violation of a 2018 agreement between North Korea and South Korea.
“Struck during a brief period of rapprochement, the accord calls for a halt in live-fire exercises in front-line buffer zones,” NPR notes. “But rising animosities over the North’s first military spy satellite launch in November has left the military agreement in tatters, with both Koreas taking steps to breach the deal.”
North Korea has for its part claimed that its artillery drills were conducted in response to a military exercise that the South Korean military performed earlier in the week.
North Korea furthered warned it’d launch “tough counteraction on an unprecedented level” if South Korea attacked or anything similar.
Tensions rise between North & South Korea, following alleged provocation on island of Yeonpyeong.
South Korea issues evacuation order for all 2.000 people living on island in the Yellow Sea, as North Korea fires 200 artillery shells.
South Korea responded with live artillery… pic.twitter.com/Wjsg9buLfs
— The National Independent (@NationalIndNews) January 5, 2024
NPR notes that North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un recently spouted “off fierce, derisive rhetoric against South Korea, saying South Korea must not be considered as a partner for reconciliation or unification.”
As such, he ordered his military to use all available resources, including nuclear weapons, to conquer South Korea in case a war broke out.
North Korea has reportedly conducted over 100 missile tests targeting South Korea and the United States since 2022, inspiring both countries to conduct their own training exercises. This in turn has convinced Kim Jong Un that both countries are preparing to invade.
All this comes amid reports that Russia is now using North Korean missiles in its battle against Ukraine.
“Russia has fired North Korean-supplied short-range ballistic missiles into Ukraine twice in the past week, an ‘escalation’ of Pyongyang’s support for Moscow that has serious implications for both the war in Europe and security on the Korean Peninsula, the White House said Thursday,” according to CNN.
“The North Korean-made missiles were fired at Ukraine on December 30 and January 2, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said at a White House briefing. They were among at least 500 missiles and drones fired at Ukraine around the New Year’s holiday, according to Kyiv.”
❗⚔️ – Missile arrival at target in Kharkov on January 2.
It is possible that a North Korean-made KN-23 ballistic missile was used for the attack.
It’s an interesting event as it shows the tighting of relationship between North Korea and Russia.
Also, the chance of… pic.twitter.com/EVOuiVY3jy
— The Informant (@theinformantofc) January 5, 2024
The Biden administration is aware of this.
“Due in part to our sanctions and export controls, Russia has become increasingly isolated on the world stage and they’ve been forced to look to likeminded states for military equipment,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said this week.
“As we’ve been warning publicly, one of those states is North Korea,” he added.
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V. Saxena is a staff writer for BizPac Review with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.
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