Both South and North Korea have fired missiles into each other’s territorial waters as a sign of heightened escalations.
North Korea has launched the most number of missiles that they have launched in a single day at 23, and one of these missiles has hit just 60 km away from the coast of the city of Sokcho.
The South Koreans lashed back at the North with their warplanes, firing three air-to-ground missiles over the maritime line that has created a dispute between the countries, to which the North Koreans responded by firing a barrage of 100 artillery shells.
The North Koreans broke the silence surrounding the missile launches by saying that they were a part of a military drill conducted jointly by the South Koreans and the Americans, and they described the drills as being “aggressive and provocative.”
The exchange between the two countries began on Wednesday, as Pyongyang launched missiles into close waters near the South. The launch triggered air-raid sirens to go off on the island of Ulleung, which is under the South’s control. The residents of the island were told to evacuate their houses and take refuge in air-raid shelters, situated underground.
The missile crossed the North Limit Line (NLL), which is a topic of dispute between both sides.
The missile landed in a location that was described by the experts as the closest that they ever came to their neighbour.
Seoul has described the whole fiasco as “unacceptable.”
The attack occurred while the South Koreans were in a period of national mourning, as a crowd crash killed 150 people in Seoul.
The missile that came the closest to the country was launched before 9:00 a.m. KST (5:30 a.m. IST) and landed 27 kilometres away from the border.
The missile launch was picked up by the Japanese and South Koreans, both of whom condemned the attacks.
The South Korean army said that it was the first time since the Korean War (1950–1955) that a missile was launched this close south to the NLL border, nearer to the South’s territorial waters.
Tensions are high this year as more than 50 missiles were launched by the North, and even a ballistic missile was launched and flew over Japan.
A nuclear-powered US submarine had arrived in the South on Monday as part of a joint exercise between the South Koreans and the Americans. Titled “vigilant storm,” it is the largest exercise of this nature and includes hundreds of aircraft from both sides.
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