On Friday, the South Korean military said that overnight North Korea fired at least 80 artillery rounds into the maritime border zone, reported Reuters. This comes after the United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with his South Korean counterpart, Lee Jong-sup and Washington reiterated their “ironclad” alliance with Seoul.
According to the report, shortly before midnight on Thursday (local time), the South Korean military detected more than 80 artillery rounds fired into the sea by North Korea which they said is in violation of the 2018 inter-Korean agreement.
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This comes after Pyongyang fired around 100 artillery rounds on Wednesday. The South Korean Ministry of Defence also issued a warning to North Korea about the firing, they said in a statement. Meanwhile, the defence ministers of the US and South Korea spoke about bolstering their alliance in light of repeated provocations by North Korea, in Washington.
The tensions have escalated recently between the two countries after North Korea fired a record number of missiles this year, including 23 on Wednesday alone. Furthermore, Washington and Seoul, also announced their decision to extend their air force exercise which will now go on from Monday to Friday, “with respect to the North’s recent provocations,” said Austin.
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On the other hand, on Thursday, Pak Jong-chon, a North Korean military officer and member of the Central Committee of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, condemned the drills by the US and South Korea. He said that they have made “a terrible mistake” by extending the exercises which “cannot be reversed,” reported Reuters.
(With inputs from agencies)
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