North Korea has shelled a South Korean military unit on the western section of the inter-Korean border, a move retaliated by the South’s military, according to the South’s defence ministry. Defence ministry said on Thursday that South Korean military detected a projectile from the North, presumed to be a rocket, into the South’s Yeonchon area. Aljazeera has more:
Ministry also said that the South Korean military fired “tens” of 155mm artillery rounds to the origin point of the North Korean projectile after the incident.
The suspected North Korean projectile landed in an area about 60 km north of Seoul in the western part of the border zone, the defence ministry said. “Our military has stepped up monitoring and is closely watching North Korean military movements,” defence ministry said.
Al Jazeera’s Harry Fawcett, reporting from Seoul, said that, according to officials, the projectile targeted a propaganda loudspeaker at the border and was detected at 3:52 local (6:52GMT) time.
“This follows a recent statement from South Korean military chief telling his forces on the border that they should not hesitate to respond resolutely and powerfully to any North Korean provocation,” Fawcett said.
