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This photo, released by North Korean state media on Oct. 10, shows exercises carried out by the North’s military for which leader Kim Jong-un gave on-site guidance. (KCNA/Yonhap)

North Korea fired some 250 artillery shells into the waters off its eastern and western coasts on Tuesday evening. The show of force followed a barrage of 560 artillery shells that were fired into the East Sea and the Yellow Sea in the early morning and evening of Oct. 14.

The artillery shells fired by North Korea on Tuesday fell into the maritime buffer zone defined by South and North Korea’s Comprehensive Military Agreement (CMA). Along with the shelling on Oct 14, that constitutes the second violation of the CMA, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff explained.

“We observed some 100 artillery shells fired from around Changsan Point, Hwanghae Province, into the Yellow Sea around 10 pm and some 150 artillery shells fired from around Changjon, Kangwon Province, into the East Sea around 11 pm,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Tuesday.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff said the artillery shells fell into the maritime buffer zone to the north of the Northern Limit Line, an area that falls within North Korean territorial waters, and that no shells were observed falling into South Korean territorial waters.

In the CMA, sometimes called the Sept. 19 military agreement, South and North Korea agreed to suspend artillery fire and maritime mobility exercises in a maritime buffer zone running on both sides of the Northern Limit Line in the Yellow Sea (Deokjeok Island to Cho Island) and in the East Sea (Sokcho to Tongchon County) with the goal of preventing armed clashes.

“The South Korean military sent North Korea a number of warning messages about artillery fire in the Yellow Sea and the East Sea, asking it to immediately cease its provocations and violations of the CMA. Firing shells into the maritime buffer zone in the Yellow Sea and the East Sea is a clear violation of the CMA, and North Korea’s continued provocations undermine peace and stability not only on the Korean Peninsula but also in the international community. Therefore, we issue a grave warning [to North Korea] and strongly urge it to immediately desist [from that behavior],” the Joint Chiefs said.

“We are tracking and monitoring related trends in cooperation with the US and are reinforcing our readiness for every contingency,” the Joint Chiefs said.

By Kwon Hyuk-chul, staff reporter

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