adminSEOUL — The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) yesterday fired some 100 rounds of artillery shells into its eastern waters from a region just north of the military demarcation line, officials at the South Korean military said. A Defence Ministry official told Xinhua on the phone that the DPRK launched artillery shells from the region some hundreds of metres north of the Demilitarised Zone in Goseong, a South Korean border town around 220 km northeast of Seoul.
The shells landed in waters some 1-8 km north of the Northern Limit Line, the disputed sea boundary in the East Sea.
Another official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff said that some 100 rounds were launched, but he noted that how many would be fired had yet to be confirmed as the firing exercise was believed to be under way.
The official said the South Korean military strengthened vigilance and defence readiness against additional firings.
The shells were believed to be fired from the 122-calibre multiple-rocket launchers with a range of 10-20 km.
It was the DPRK’s 15th launch of missiles or artillery shells this year.
The DPRK launched more than 90 short- and medium-range missiles and shells since February 21.
It was rare for the DPRK to conduct firing exercises just north of the military demarcation line in the east coast.
Pyongyang recently escalated tensions on the Korean Peninsula by firing missiles and shells five times in less than three weeks.
On July 13, the DPRK fired two short-range ballistic missiles, presumed to be Scud, into the eastern waters from the northern area of its southern border city of Kaesong, some 20 km north of the military demarcation line. The missiles flew about 500 km.
The DPRK also fired two short-range missiles, also presumed to be Scud, from a site in Hwanghae Province, some 40 km north of the military demarcation line, in a north-easterly direction into its eastern waters on July 9.
The DPRK launched two Scud missiles, which flew 500 km, into its east waters on June 29 after firing three KN-09 shells with a range of 190 km on June 26.
A South Korean government source was quoted by local media as saying that South Korea and the United States will raise the issue of the DPRK’s recent missile launches with the UN Security Council.
The launches came ahead of a joint maritime exercise that will involve US aircraft carrier USS George Washington and South Korean battleships in southern and southwestern waters off the Korean Peninsula from July 16 to July 21. — Xinhua.
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