Hours after North Korea fired more than 200 artillery shells into the western sea on the morning of January 5, South Korean marines on the border island of Yeonpyeong conducted a live-fire drill.
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| Photo taken of South Korean marines patrolling Yeonpyeong Island in 2020. (Source: Yonhap) |
Yonhap said the troops conducted a "live-fire exercise using K9 self-propelled artillery." It was the first such exercise since the two Koreas suspended a military agreement in November 2023.
Meanwhile, the South Korean military confirmed that there were no unusual signs from North Korea after South Korea's live-fire drills.
Earlier, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected artillery shells from the direction of Jangsan Cape, north of South Korea's northernmost island of Baengnyeong, and Deungsan Cape, north of the border island of Yeonpyeong in western South Korea, from around 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (local time, 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Hanoi time).
According to the force, the artillery shells fell in the northern buffer zone of the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto maritime border between the two Koreas. There have been no reports of damage to South Korea.
Faced with this situation, China has called on all parties to "exercise restraint, avoid actions that inflame tensions, avoid escalating the situation, and create conditions for restoring meaningful dialogue."
Responding to reporters, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin emphasized: "We are closely monitoring the developments and changes in the situation on the Korean peninsula. Confrontation between relevant parties has increased recently and the situation on the peninsula continues to be tense."
According to Mr. Wang, as a neighbor of the peninsula, China always "advocates maintaining peace and stability on the peninsula and resolving issues on the peninsula through dialogue and consultation."
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