North and South Korea fire artillery at disputed sea border

North and South Korea have each held artillery firing drills near their maritime buffer zone on Friday, as tensions ratchet up again on the peninsula.

North Korea fired more than 200 rounds off its west coast into the Yellow Sea, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff.

While the artillery shells fell into the water north of the disputed sea border known as the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the shelling triggered warnings on South Korea's Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong islands, where residents were told to seek shelter as a precautionary measure.

South Korea's military responded with its own firing exercises using self-propelled howitzers and other artillery.

Yeonpyeong island was the target of a North Korean artillery attack that killed four people in 2010.

Following a series of missile tests in 2022, the self-proclaimed nuclear power North Korea once again tested nuclear-capable missiles several times last year in violation of UN prohibition resolutions.

The United States and South Korea have expanded their joint military manoeuvres.

The Yonhap news agency reported that the armed forces of South Korea and the US began an artillery exercise near the border with North Korea on Thursday. Friday's firing by North Korea was seen as a response.

After the North Korean launch of a spy satellite two months ago, South Korea had partially suspended a bilateral military agreement from 2018 on détente measures on the border. North Korea responded by announcing that it would no longer adhere to the entire agreement.

The area around the maritime border has been the scene of skirmishes between warships from both countries in the past. The Northern Limit Line is not recognized by North Korea. It was drawn unilaterally by a UN command in 1953.