Dhe tensions between South and North Korea are increasing. North Korea fired more than 10 rockets of different types on the east and west coasts, according to the South Korean military. A short-range ballistic missile crossed the maritime border line to the east. A North Korean missile has landed near South Korean territorial waters for the first time since the end of the Korean War in the 1950s, a Defense Ministry spokesman said in Seoul. An air alert was also raised on Ulleung Island off the east coast. South Korea responded by launching its own missiles from fighter jets into the open sea north of the border line.
The new North Korean missile tests were seen in South Korea in response to the largest air force exercise by South Korean and US forces in years. North Korea had accused both countries of “ruthless” military provocation and threatened countermeasures. The exercises in South Korea, which lasted several days, had been prepared for a long time and served the common defense, said a Pentagon spokesman on Tuesday (local time).
Tensions in the region have been building for months. North Korea had already launched more than 50 missiles this year – most of them ballistic missiles of different ranges. At least three short-range ballistic missiles were among the missiles on Wednesday, South Korea said.
Capable of carrying nuclear warheads
UN resolutions ban North Korea from testing ballistic missiles. Depending on the design, these can be equipped with a nuclear warhead. The authoritarian country has been at odds with the international community for years over its nuclear weapons program and is subject to severe sanctions.
South Korea’s military increased its alert after the neighboring country’s new missile tests. President Yoon Suk Yeol accused Pyongyang of provocation, which “is a virtual violation of our territory by a missile that crossed the Northern Border Line (NLL) for the first time since the (country) partition.” North Korea has to pay a price for this.
The so-called NLL (Northern Limit Line) was drawn by a UN command at the end of the Korean War (1950-53). Since then it has practically served as an extension of the military demarcation line on the Korean peninsula. This line has been widely observed by North Korea in the past, although North Korean fishing boats have repeatedly entered the neutral buffer zone south of the line. The peninsula is still at war under international law. The ceasefire agreement has not yet been replaced by a peace treaty.