sEkwem expects the two sides to refrain from taking measures that would exacerbate tensions [e] “Avoid further escalation,” Chinese diplomatic spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a press conference.
North Korea today launched live-fire artillery exercises near its maritime border with the South in violation of a 2018 agreement, prompting Seoul to prepare to hold similar drills.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff announced that the North fired 200 rounds into the waters north of the maritime border, west of the peninsula, near the islands of Yeonpyeong and Baengnyeong, and guaranteed a response, although it did not provide details.
Residents of Yeonpyeong Island, located near the border, said the South Korean military asked them to leave their homes as a “precautionary measure” because they planned to launch naval gunfire drills during the day.
Authorities on the island, located about 100 kilometers from Yeonpyeong, said residents of Bingneung were also asked to evacuate.
“We are making evacuation announcements now,” an official in Paengnyeong said, adding that the South Korean military had informed him that a naval exercise would be held soon.
The South Korean Defense Ministry described the North's maneuvers as a “provocative act that threatens peace on the peninsula” and urged Pyongyang to “immediately stop these actions,” according to a statement.
The maritime border between the two Koreas has been the scene of several battles since 1999. In 2010, the Pyongyang regime fired 170 artillery shells on Yeonpyeong Island, killing four people, including two civilians.
In a military agreement concluded in 2018, Pyongyang and Seoul pledged not to conduct live fire exercises or conduct air surveillance activities in the no-fly zones and buffer zones established along their common border.
However, on November 22, South Korea announced the partial suspension of the agreement, after North Korea placed its first military spy satellite into orbit. A day later, Pyongyang suspended the agreement completely.
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