SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
North Korea fires artillery barrage into buffer zone: Seoul
Seoul, Dec 5 (AFP) Dec 05, 2022
North Korea fired a barrage of artillery shells into a maritime buffer zone on Monday, Seoul's military said, the latest in a series of launches by an increasingly belligerent Pyongyang.

About 130 artillery rounds were simultaneously fired at 14:59 pm (0559 GMT) from two separate sites, one on North Korea's east coast and one on the west coasts, the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

Seoul's military said the barrage was a "clear violation" of the 2018 agreement between the North and South that established the buffer zone in a bid to reduce tensions.

It said none of the shells crossed the Northern Limit Line, the de facto maritime border between the two countries.

The military said it had issued "several warnings" over the barrage, without giving any further details.

"Our military is strengthening its readiness posture in preparation for emergencies while tracking and monitoring related developments under close cooperation between South Korea and the United States," it added.

At a summit in Pyongyang in 2018, former South Korean president Moon Jae-in and the North's Kim Jong Un agreed to establish buffer zones along land and sea boundaries in a bid to reduce tensions.

But since talks collapsed in 2019, Kim has doubled down on his banned weapons programmes, and experts say he may now be testing South Korea by violating the buffer zone agreement.

Pyongyang has fired artillery into the buffer zone repeatedly in recent months.

It has also conducted a record-breaking blitz of missile launches in recent weeks, including its newest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) last month, the most powerful such test by the nuclear-armed country yet.

Pyongyang, which is banned from testing ballistic missiles by repeated UN Security Council resolutions, has repeatedly claimed its weapons tests are a legitimate response to Washington's moves to boost the protection it offers to allies Seoul and Tokyo.

Officials and analysts in Seoul and Washington say the launches may build up to a seventh nuclear test.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Macron says Europe must become 'space power' again
NASA raises chance for asteroid to hit moon
Tidal forces from the Sun may have shaped Mercury's tectonic features

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Tesla expected to launch long-discussed robotaxi service
Israeli army says struck ' inactive nuclear reactor' in Iran's Arak
New Zealand targets leadership in superconducting space tech with new research alliance

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
Trump says US strikes 'obliterated' Iran nuclear sites
Israelis emerge from shelters to devastation after Iran attacks
Japan spots Chinese ships near disputed isles for record 216 straight days

24/7 News Coverage
NASA scientists find ties between Earth's oxygen and magnetic field
How did life survive 'Snowball Earth'? In ponds, study suggests
Arctic warming spurs growth of carbon-soaking peatlands



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.