One of the missiles fell near South Korean territorial waters. North Korea also fired 100 artillery shells at a maritime “buffer zone”.
The two Koreas exchanged missile fire on Wednesday: Pyongyang launched more than 10, one of which fell near South Korean territorial waters, prompting Seoul to use three air-to-surface missiles to retaliate against the “territorial invasion”. A short-range ballistic missile attributed to North Korea first crossed the northern border line, which is the de facto maritime border between the two countries, triggering a rare airstrike alert urging residents of South Korea’s Ulleungdo island to take refuge in underground shelters. North Korea also fired 100 artillery shells at a maritime “buffer zone”.
A man in front of a TV in Seoul watches the launch of a North Korean missile. JUNG Yeon-je / AFP
Seoul’s military says it is “the first time since the partition of the peninsula” following fighting in the 1953 Korean War that a North Korean missile has landed so close to southern territorial waters. Yoon Suk-yeol “stressed that the North Korean provocation is a de facto territorial invasion by a missile that crossed the northern border line for the first time since the peninsula was divided,” the South Korean presidency said in a press release.
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The missile that fell closest to South Korea landed in waters just 57 kilometers (35 miles) east of mainland South Korea, the Seoul military said, calling the Pyongyang launch “very rare and intolerable”. “We declare that our army will respond resolutely,” she added. Shortly thereafter, the Seoul military reported that it fired three air-to-surface missiles near the spot on the sea border where the North Korean missile fell.
“Increasing Tensions on the Korean Peninsula”
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff initially claimed to have identified a launch by three short-range ballistic missiles. However, he later announced that North Korea had launched “more than 10 missiles of various types towards the east and west”. President Yoon has called a National Security Council meeting over the launch, which analysts say is one of the “most aggressive and menacing” in several years. South Korea’s president has ordered “quick and strong” action to pay a high price for North Korea’s provocations.
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Japan has also confirmed the launch of North Korean missiles, with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida telling reporters he wants to “hold a national security meeting as soon as possible”. Seoul and Washington are currently staging the largest joint aerial exercise in their history, dubbed “Vigilant Storm,” involving hundreds of fighter jets from both armies. Pak Jong Chon, field marshal and secretary of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, described the exercises as aggressive and provocative, according to a report by the official North Korean press on Wednesday. According to him, the name of these maneuvers is reminiscent of Operation Desert Storm, the name given to the US-led coalition’s military operations against Iraq in 1990 and 1991, following the invasion of Kuwait.
“If the United States and South Korea try to use their armed forces against the (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) without fear, the special assets of the DPRK’s armed forces will fulfill their strategic mission without delay,” Pak said. According to Jong Chon to the state-run KCNA. “The United States and South Korea must face a terrible trade and pay the most terrible price in history,” he added.