N. Korea conducting live-fire drills from western coast
North Korea was conducting live-fire drills from its western coast Sunday, a military source said, the latest in a series of drills near the tensely guarded western border, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The North Korean military has been conducting the drills north of the South Korean front-line island of Yeonpyeong since around 4 p.m., the source said.
There have been no North Korean artillery shells falling south of the Northern Limit Line (NLL), a de-facto maritime border in the Yellow Sea, and no casualties have been reported, according to the source.
Ongjin County, which has jurisdiction over South Korea's northwestern islands, issued a warning to the border islands as artillery fire was heard from the North Korean side.
"Troops on Yeonpyeong Island are currently responding, but residents are advised to be cautious of outdoor activities," the county said in a text message sent to islanders.
The North has been staging live-fire drills from its southwestern coast for the third consecutive day, raising tension near the maritime border.
On Friday, North Korea fired some 200 artillery shells from its southwestern coastal areas, prompting the South Korean troops on the front-line islands of Yeonpyeong and Baengnyeong to stage live-fire drills in response.
North Korea's Friday artillery firing marked the 16th one of its kind, including a missile launch in December 2022. The South Korean military conducted live-fire drills near the maritime buffer zone for the first time since the signing of the 2018 pact.
The latest saber-rattling came after Pyongyang in November vowed to restore military measures halted under a 2018 inter-Korean military agreement, which set up buffer zones in land, sea and air, and banned live-fire drills near the border area to prevent accidental clashes.
On Saturday, the North carried out live-fire drills for the second consecutive day to fire around 60 shells from the western coast, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
Earlier in the day, Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, claimed the North conducted a "deceptive operation" by detonating explosives simulating the sound of 130 mm coastal artillery the previous day, deriding the South Korean military's detection capabilities.
