South Korea and North Korea fire warning shots at each other at sea

A North Korean merchant ship violated the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in waters near Baengnyeong Island at 3:42 a.m. on October 24 and retreated north after the South Korean Navy fired warning shots, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

Meanwhile, the North Korean military also accused a South Korean warship of violating the Western Sea Demarcation Line and fired 10 artillery shells into the waters as a warning. Accordingly, the South Korean escort ship violated the Military Demarcation Line controlled by the North Korean Army by about 2.5 km at 3:50 a.m.

A North Korean military exercise on October 6, 2022. Photo: KCNA/AP

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the North firing 10 artillery shells, starting at around 5:14 a.m., in violation of the September 19 Comprehensive Military Agreement between the two sides aimed at reducing border tensions. The JCS called it a provocative act that undermines peace and stability not only on the peninsula but also in the international community.

The exchange of warning shots between North and South Korea occurred amid heightened tensions on the peninsula, with North Korea continuing to test ballistic missiles and fire artillery.

There is widespread speculation that North Korea could conduct a nuclear test as soon as the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China ends at the weekend.

Set up by the US-led United Nations Command at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, the NLL serves as the de facto maritime border between North and South Korea. Pyongyang does not recognize the line, and the two sides fought bloody clashes there in 1999, 2002 and 2009.