South Korea believed that a North Korean ship had crossed the maritime limit, drawing in return ten semongertones from Pyongyang.
Le Monde
The tension between Seoul and Pyongyang does not drop. The two Koreas exchanged, Monday, October 24, morning, warnings in connection with their maritime border which they dispute.
The South Korean army thus sent a warning shot to the attention of a North Korean merchant ship believing that it had crossed the said line of the north limit, near the island of Baennyeong, at 3:42 a.m. local time (8:42 p.m. Sunday evening, Paris time). The North Korean boat would then have folded up north, said the joint staff, according to the South Korean news agency Yonhap.
For its part, the army of Pyongyang said that a South Korean military ship violated a few minutes later the de facto border of 2.5 to 5 kilometers and the North Korean army (APC) A replicated by pulling ten warnings from his attention from his west coast.
“The defense units of the west coastline of the APC took a first countermeasure intended to push the enemy warship in a powerful manner by pulling ten shells of multiple rocket launchers towards territorial waters, where a Enemy naval movement was detected at 5:15 am, “said a spokesperson for the APC staff in a press release.
“We have once again sent a severe warning to enemies at the origin of maritime provocations which are added to artillery fire and the dissemination of cross-border messages by speakers,” said a carrier Word of the North Korean army staff. 2> several clashes over the years
The maritime border, considered a hot spot, has been the scene of several clashes between the two Koreas over the years. But the tensions have intensified in recent weeks, Pyongyang having carried out several missile launches and artillery dam fire deemed provocative by South Korea and Japan.
Pyongyang has considerably increased his military maneuvers recently, while Seoul and Washington claim that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is about to proceed to what would be the seventh nuclear test of his country.
Monday’s semark exchange comes on the day when the assistant American secretary of state, Wendy Sherman, goes to Japan for tripartite discussions with Tokyo and Seoul, both allies of Washington, as a sign of Unit after the North Korea shooting series.
During the month of October, Pyongyang engaged in military demonstrations, launching a short -range ballistic missile, proceeding to multiple artillery fire and sending hunting planes near the border South Korean. The artillery fire took place in its waters on its east and west coasts, in violation of a “buffer zone” established during an agreement in 2018 with the south to prevent the incidents at sea.
Pyongyang thus claims to respond to Seoul “provocations” and described these weapons tests as simulations of “tactical nuclear strikes” against targets in South Korea.