North Korea fired more than 200 coastal artillery shells this morning, the South Korean military said, quoted by Reuters.
Seoul did not report any damage caused by the shots, which fell north of the Northern Border Line (NBL), which effectively serves as the maritime border between the two Koreas, the sources said.
South Korea has ordered the evacuation of civilians from the island of Yongbyon, which is located 10 km from North Korea, the Ministry of Defense said, quoted by France Presse.
At the same time, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for an increase in the production of various missile systems, defining this as an important task for the readiness for “military confrontation” with the enemy, the state news agency KCTA reported.
During a visit to a factory for the production of self-propelled missile launchers, Kim said that the production of various installations for tactical and strategic weapons is a key task to strengthen the country’s capacity to deter nuclear war.
“Pointing out that the position and role of the plant is very important /…/ given the overwhelmingly difficult situation that requires the country to be more solidly prepared for a military clash with the enemy, he outlined the tasks to be performed by the plant”, indicates the CTC.
The White House said yesterday that North Korea had recently provided Moscow with ballistic missiles and launchers, some of which Russia has already used, for its war against Ukraine. For months, Washington has accused Pyongyang of supplying military equipment to Moscow in exchange for technical assistance to North Korea to develop its military potential. Pyongyang has denied allegations that it is supplying weapons to Moscow.
At a key party meeting last week, Kim ordered the military, munitions and nuclear weapons companies to step up preparations for war because he said US policy was making war inevitable, Reuters recalled.
“(Kim) specified the immediate production plan of various self-propelled missile launchers, the long-term production plan and the production capacity task,” the KCTA added.
2024-01-05 05:13:24
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