Seoul accuses Pyongyang of launching more than 200 artillery shells on the west coast of the Korean Peninsula

The South Korean Army reports that the shells have fallen in the maritime buffer zone without causing damage

South Korean authorities have accused North Korea of ​​launching more than 200 artillery shells this Friday morning on the west coast of the Korean Peninsula, which has forced the evacuation of two South Korean islands.

Thus, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff have detected the artillery shots fired from Cape Jangsan and Cape Deungsan, on the southwestern coast of North Korea, between 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. (local), and which finally hit without causing damage to the buffer zone established in the 2018 inter-Korean military treaty with the aim of reducing tensions, from which Pyongyang decided to withdraw in November.

"We seriously warn that the entire responsibility for such crisis situations lies with North Korea and we strongly urge its immediate cessation," said Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman Colonel Lee Sung Jun, according to the news agency. South Korean Yonhap.

He has also described the act as "provocative", which will be responded to with live-fire exercises on the northwest border islands, according to South Korean officials.

Previously, Seoul had ordered the evacuation of civilians to air raid shelters on the islands of Yeonpyeong and Baengnyeong, located on the aforementioned southwest coast, due to the possibility of "provocative" military actions by Pyongyang.

"We announced the evacuation after receiving a call from a military unit saying that it was carrying out a maritime attack on Yeongpyeong Island due to a situation of North Korean provocation," an official told the agency.

The last time the North Korean Army fired artillery towards a maritime buffer zone was on December 6, 2022.