N. Korea fires another round of artillery shells into western 'buffer zone': S. Korean military

All News 14:33 October 19, 2022

SEOUL, Oct. 19 (Yonhap) -- North Korea fired around 100 additional artillery shells into waters off its west coast Wednesday, South Korea's military said, following its overnight launch of artillery rounds.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the shells lobbed into the Yellow Sea from Yonan County, South Hwanghae Province, starting at 12:30 p.m.

The shells landed in the western buffer zone set under an inter-Korean military agreement signed on Sept. 19, 2018, to reduce border tensions, according to the JCS. None of them fell into South Korean waters.

"Our military communicated a warning multiple times, regarding (the North's) breach of the Sept. 19 military accord and the immediate cessation of provocations," the JCS said in a text message sent to reporters.

It added that the North's continued provocations are acts that undermine peace and stability not only on the Korean Peninsula but also in the international community.

"While tracking and monitoring related movements in close cooperation with the United States, our military is strengthening a readiness posture to prepare for possible contingencies," it said.

The latest saber-rattling came hours after the General Staff of the North's Korean People's Army said it had fired artillery shots overnight in a "powerful military countermeasure" against the South's ongoing military exercise.

Starting at around 10 p.m. on Tuesday, the North fired some 250 artillery shots into waters off its west and east coasts, according to the JCS.

The South's military is conducting the annual Hoguk defense exercise set to run through Oct. 28.