North and South Korea exchanged warning shots off the west coast on Monday, Oct. 24 accusing each other of breaching their western maritime border amid heightened military tension.
The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it broadcast warnings and fired warning shots to see off a North Korean merchant vessel that crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto sea boundary, at around 3:40 a.m. local time.
“After the North Korean merchant vessel crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL) we broadcast warnings and fired warning shots to see the vessel off,” South Korea’s chief of public affairs said during a press briefing.
The North’s military said it fired 10 artillery shells after a South Korean navy ship violated the NLL and fired warning shots “on the pretext of tracking down an unidentified ship,” according to state media.
Separately, as part of South Korea’s annual Hoguk defence drills, South Korean naval forces said on Monday that they would stage four-day exercises off the west coast, bringing together about 20 warships, including their Aegis-equipped destroyer and U.S. assets such as Apache attack helicopters and A-10 strike aircraft.
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By Reuters. (Production: Minwoo Park)
