North Korea fired dozens of artillery shells into waters near the inter-Korean sea border Wednesday, while the South responded immediately with warning shots into the air, Yonhap News Agency reported, quoting South Korean officials.
North Korea fired about 30 artillery shells from 9:05 a.m. through 10:16 a.m., and the shells landed about 2.25 kilometers north of the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto inter-Korean maritime borderline in the West Sea. It was within the boundary of the area the communist state previously declared as "no-sail zones," Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.
The South Korean navy responded by firing about 100 shoreline Vulcan cannons with a range of 3-4 kilometers only as "warning shots" as the North Korean shells landed on its own waters, according to the JCS. No casualties or injuries were reported as both sides fired toward the air and no fishing boats were then on duty.
South Korea promised it will immediate respond if the North fires again.
The South Korean military said, shortly after Pyongyang fired dozens of artillery shells into waters near the inter-Korean sea border, that Seoul is fully prepared to make a military response should North Korea makes further provocations.
"We would have made a counterattack if the shells flew toward the west (of the NLL into the South Korean territorial waters), but it landed on north side," a senior officer of the JCS told a press briefing. "We will act upon our exchange fire principles, however, should North Korea cross the line. We are fully prepared for all circumstances and are on high alert."
Seoul sent North Korea three messages after the shells were detected on its radar, warning counteraction unless it stops firing, Lee added.
Meanwhile, President Lee Myung-bak, who was visiting India, was briefed on the incident. President's chief of staff Chung Jung-gil, in Seoul, presided over a security meeting on the matter, where security-related ministers attended, officials of the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said.