North Korea fired about 170 artillery shells toward the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea on Friday, and tested another ballistic missile that fell some 370 kilometers from the country’s coast, the Kyodo news agency reported, citing the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff.
According to the report, North Korea fired 130 artillery shells toward the Yellow Sea and 40 more shells toward the Sea of Japan at dawn on Friday. The shells fell outside South Korea’s exclusive economic zone.
The North Korean shelling violated the 2018 Comprehensive Military Agreement, which established a maritime buffer zone between Seoul and Pyongyang to reduce military tensions, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said.
“We’re looking into everything one by one. But it’s correct that it’s a violation of the Sept. 19 accord,” Yoon said, as quoted by the Yonhap news agency. The president added that Seoul was building “a readiness posture against North Korea’s provocations.”
North Korea Test-Fires Another Ballistic Missile
North Korea launched yet another short-range ballistic missile toward the Sea of Japan early Friday, the Kyodo news agency reported, citing Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada.
The missile traveled about 650 kilometers (404 miles) at a maximum altitude of 50 kilometers before falling outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, some 370 kilometers from the country’s coast, Kyodo reported, citing Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada.Kyodo also cited the South Korean military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff as saying that the missile was launched from an area near Pyongyang at around 1:49 a.m.