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Seoul: North Korea fires suspected artillery pieces into sea
ByHyung-jin Kim Associated Press
June 12, 2022, 11:11 AM
SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea test-fired suspected artillery pieces into the sea on Sunday, South Korea’s military said, days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for greater defense capability to cope with outside threats.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that it detected several flight trajectories believed to be North Korean artillery on Sunday morning. It said South Korea maintains a firm military readiness in close coordination with the United States amid boosted surveillance on North Korea.
During a national security council meeting convened to discuss the suspected launches, South Korean officials expressed concern that North Korea is upgrading weapons systems that pose a direct threat to South Korea and reaffirmed they would sternly deal with such North Korean efforts, according to South Korea's presidential office.
The North’s artillery tests draw less outside attention than its missile launches. But its forward-deployed long-range artillery guns are a serious security threat to South Korea's populous metropolitan region, which is only 40-50 kilometers (25-30 miles) from the border with North Korea.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that it detected several flight trajectories believed to be North Korean artillery on Sunday morning. It said South Korea maintains a firm military readiness in close coordination with the United States amid boosted surveillance on North Korea.
During a national security council meeting convened to discuss the suspected launches, South Korean officials expressed concern that North Korea is upgrading weapons systems that pose a direct threat to South Korea and reaffirmed they would sternly deal with such North Korean efforts, according to South Korea's presidential office.
The North’s artillery tests draw less outside attention than its missile launches. But its forward-deployed long-range artillery guns are a serious security threat to South Korea's populous metropolitan region, which is only 40-50 kilometers (25-30 miles) from the border with North Korea.
More:
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/seoul-north-korea-fires-suspected-artillery-pieces-sea-85342424
Elsewhere on Korea language youtube the firings are described as unguided rocket launches (MRLS) into the west sea, probably less than 300mm, namely 122mm and 240mm. The firings took place from 8:07 am to 11:03am local time June 12. AP reports the South Korean NSC convened to discuss the episode.
According to unofficial social media sources including one operated for the benefit of president Yoon’s wife Kim Gon-hee, she and her husband went to the theater today to watch the movie Broker and mingle with the “people.” A youtube political pundit I follow said that Yoon had taken the weekend off for “ordinary activities.”
There is a military agreement between North and South Korea negotiated by the prior Moon administration, that prohibits military drills in the West Sea up to 50km north of the Northern Limit Line (NLL) which is the maritime extension of the Line of Demarcation at the center of the DMZ on land. There is no indication of whether or not these unguided rocket salvos violated that agreement.
