A North Korean missile landed close to South Korea’s coast for the first time since the countries split on Wednesday, international news agencies reported. The weapon did not fall within South Korean territorial waters, but did land south of the so-called Northern Border Line, the disputed maritime boundary between the two countries. South Korea has fired three missiles northwards in response to land beyond the Northern Border, officials said.
The missile was one of about 17 fired from North Korea’s east and west coasts, South Korea’s military command said. The closest missile touched down 26 kilometers south of the Northern Border Line and 167 kilometers from Ulleung Island, where an air raid siren went off in places. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol called the firing of the missile “an effective act of territorial encroachment” and promised a “quick and firm response.”
Seventeen North Korean missiles fired in one day is a record – unprecedented in recent years. Later Wednesday morning, about 100 more artillery shells were fired from North Korean territory toward a maritime buffer zone, which North and South Korea established in 2018 to calm tensions.
North Korea, which has not yet responded, fired the missile shortly after threatening to use nuclear weapons against both South Korea and the United States. The countries would have to pay “the heaviest price in history” for the military exercises they conduct — exercises seen in North Korea as preparation for an invasion. South Korea and the United States responded that the exercises are not intended as a provocation.
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