In response to ongoing military drills taking place in South Korea across the border, North Korea declared on Tuesday that it has instructed military forces to fire additional artillery shells into the sea, according to the North's official KCNA news agency.
A day prior, North Korea claimed to have launched more than 130 shells into the ocean off its east and west coasts, some of which fell in a buffer zone close to the maritime boundary between the two Koreas. According to Seoul, North Korea violated a 2018 inter-Korean pact to reduce tensions.
North Korea Fires More Artillery Shells
Since Monday, US and South Korean forces have begun practicing live fire near the border. NBC News reported. The exercises, according to the allies, are required to dissuade a nuclear-armed North Korea, which has conducted a record number of missile tests this year and has started making preparations to restart nuclear testing for the first time since 2017.
In addition to the artillery fire, the North Korean army alerted units at all levels to a military emergency, and troops were told to increase surveillance, according to the spokesperson.
In two different testing sites in the Cheorwon region, the South Korean army is conducting live-fire drills with howitzers and many rocket launchers that started on Monday and will go through Wednesday.
The military of North Korea stated on Monday that it had warned its western and eastern coastline troops to fire artillery as a warning after spotting a number of South Korean rockets traveling southeast from the Cheorwon area.
For the first time since November 3, when over 80 artillery shells landed on North Korea's side of the zone off its eastern coast, North Korea launched weapons into the maritime buffer zones.
This year, North Korea has conducted a record number of missile tests, including several of an intercontinental ballistic missile system that may be able to penetrate deep into the US mainland and an intermediate-range missile shot over Japan, as per ABC News.
In a furious response to an escalation of joint US-South Korean military drills that North Korea perceives as preparations for a future invasion, North Korea has also carried out a number of short-range launches that it claimed as simulated nuclear strikes on South Korean and US targets.
According to experts, North Korea wants to use its nuclear capability to pressure the United States into accepting economic and security concessions from a position of strength. North Korea may soon further up the ante by conducting its first nuclear test since 2017 according to South Korean authorities.
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US, Asian Allies Impose Sanction Against North Korea
Sanctions on three top North Korean officials connected to the nation's most recent missile launches have been sanctioned by the US and its Asian allies.
This year, Pyongyang launched a record-breaking 60 ballistic missiles and conducted six intercontinental ballistic missile tests. Sanctions have also been imposed by the EU, South Korea, and Japan.
Western nations have long imposed strict restrictions on North Korea. All US-based assets owned by North Korean officials will be frozen as a result of these new measures. They won't be allowed to do business with any US companies or people, according to BBC News.
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