North Korea fires shots in response to its southern neighbor

WORLD, Oct. 24 (YPA) – North and South Korea say they have exchanged warning shots near a disputed area off their west coast, the latest indication of heightened military tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

North Korea fired 10 artillery shells off its west coast on Monday (Oct 24), the North s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, in response to South Korea s warning shots fired at a North Korean boat that crossed the two Koreas  maritime border.

North Korea fired 10 shells of multiple rocket launchers at around 5.15 am (4.15am Singapore time) after the South Korean military fired warning shots at around 3.50am citing patrol activities, a spokesman for the General Staff of the North s Korean People s Army said.

The South Joint Chiefs of Staff said it sent back a North Korean merchant vessel that crossed the Northern Limit Line, the de facto sea boundary between the two Koreas.

E.M