North Korea conducts artillery drills amid tensions with South Korea.

North Korea carried out a series of exercises including more than 90 artillery firings following South Korean exercises. Subsequently, North Korea issued a stern warning of an immediate military response to any perceived provocation from South Korea. This information was reported by Yonhap News Agency on January 7, 2024, citing a military source.
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North Korea escalated tensions with South Korea by firing over 200 artillery shells into the sea (contextual illustration) (Picture source: North Korean MoD)

On January 5, 2024, North Korea escalated tensions with South Korea by firing over 200 artillery shells into the sea near a tense maritime border and towards two South Korean islands. This act, described by Seoul as a 'provocation,' led to a response in the form of live fire drills by South Korea. The North Korean firings resulted in the evacuation of residents of Yeonpyeong and Baengnyeong, two remote islands controlled by South Korea, who took refuge in bomb shelters on the orders of the South Korean military. These islands are located near the Northern Limit Line (NLL), a contested maritime border between the two Koreas in the Yellow Sea.

North Korea claimed that its defensive coastal units fired 192 shells in response to military actions by South Korea's 'military gangsters' in recent days, according to the official North Korean news agency KCNA. North Korea also threatened an 'unprecedented strong response' if Seoul continues to make provocative moves.

On January 6, 2024, North Korea continued its artillery exercises near the contested maritime border with South Korea, firing over 60 shells into the waters northwest of Yeonpyeong Island, according to a statement from the South Korean military. These ongoing live-fire exercises by North Korea along the maritime border are considered a threat to peace on the Korean Peninsula and increase tensions. The South Korean military warned that it would take measures if the North continued its provocations or endangered South Korean citizens, although it did not plan to respond with its live-fire exercises at that time.

In response, the South Korean military fired about 400 artillery shells at a simulated target at sea in an exercise involving self-propelled howitzers K9 and tanks K1E1.

All these cross-firing exercises were a violation of a 2018 inter-Korean agreement aimed at reducing frontline military tensions. This agreement, reached during a brief period of rapprochement, called for a halt to live-fire exercises in frontline buffer zones. However, the military agreement has been compromised by rising animosities following North Korea's first military spy satellite launch in November, with both Koreas taking steps to breach the agreement.

Kim Yo Jong, the sister of Kim Jong Un, stated in a release by KCNA that the Korean People's Army (KPA) is ready for action. 'As we have already declared, the KPA will initiate an immediate military response at the slightest provocation,' Kim asserted.

The military exercises on both sides led to warnings for residents of South Korean border islands to take shelter, although no reports emerged of shells crossing the maritime border.

In her statement, Kim dismissed claims of artillery firings on Saturday, suggesting the North used explosives as a diversion. The South Korean military dismissed Kim's claims as minor psychological tactics, calling on North Korea to halt military activities that heighten border tensions.

Relations between the Koreas have deteriorated significantly, especially after Kim Jong Un declared North Korea a nuclear state in its constitution last year and conducted several tests of advanced intercontinental ballistic missiles.

During end-of-year policy discussions in Pyongyang, Kim threatened nuclear action against the South and advocated for an expansion of North Korea's military capabilities, warning of a potentially imminent armed conflict. Therefore, the artillery exercises come amid rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula, a situation to follow closely.