North Korea Retaliates Seoul's 'Provocations' Near Forward Defense Area, State Media Report
06:37 GMT 14.10.2022 (Updated: 13:37 GMT 18.09.2023)
© AP Photo / Wong Maye-EA submarine-launched ballistic missile is displayed in Kim Il Sung Square during a military parade in Pyongyang, North Korea, April 15, 2017, to celebrate the 105th birth anniversary of Kim Il Sung, the country's late founder and grandfather of current ruler Kim Jong Un.
© AP Photo / Wong Maye-E
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - North Korean troops have taken "strong military countermeasures" in retaliation to the provocations conducted by the South Korean army in the vicinity of a forward defense area, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Friday, citing the General Staff Department of the Korean People's Army (KPA).
"According to a report on enemy movements in the front, the south Korean army conducted an artillery fire for about 10 hours near the forward defense area of the KPA Fifth Corps on Oct. 13. Taking a serious note of this provocative action by the south Korean military in the frontline area, we took strong military countermeasures," a General Staff spokesperson said, as quoted in the report.
It did not specify the nature of the "countermeasures."
The report also said that the KPA had sent a "stern warning" to the South Korean army which it said was "inciting military tension in the frontline area with reckless action."
Earlier in the day, North Korea fired a total of 170 artillery shells toward the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea and launched a short-range ballistic missile. The missile flew about 650 kilometers (404 miles) at a maximum altitude of 50 kilometers before falling outside Japan's exclusive economic zone.
Pyongyang has carried out eight test launches since September 25 and over 25 since the beginning of 2022. North Korea has emphasized that its test launches are being carried out in response to the refusal of the US and South Korea to stop joint military drills, which Pyongyang believes threaten regional stability.