The standoff between South and North Korea escalated as the Communist nation fired around 23 missiles over one day, with one landing less than 37 miles (60 kilometers) off the South Korean city of Sokcho. The South responded with 3 missiles fired over the doubtful maritime separation line.
Pyongyang again responded with 6 missiles and over a 100-shell artillery barrage. They have said that they were merely responding to the large-scale armed exercises presently being conducted by the US in South Korean waters. The Communist nation has termed the move provocative and aggressive.
Tensions are high this year as the North has tested a series of nuclear weapons. North Korea has warned of horrible consequences if South Korea continued to conduct joint drills with America. It is being viewed as a thinly veiled threat of using nuclear weapons.
North Korea Furious After South Korea Allowed An American Nuclear Submarine Into Its Territory
Despite the crippling sanction imposed by the western nations, North Korea conducted a series of nuclear tests starting 2006. There are rumors that another one is in the offing, though it has remained
Pyongyang continues to spread its military potential which is seen as a breach of UN Security Council resolutions. It has threatened its neighbors and has brought even the American mainland within the reach of its missiles.
The heated exchange between South Korea and its northern neighbor began when the latter launched missiles into South Korean waters. It triggered air sirens in Ulleung, a South Korean island.
Residents were forced to flee to underground bomb shelters. One missile fell on the wrong side of the Limit Line to the North, a temporary maritime border that has been a bone between the two nations. It was outside South Korean territory but was the closest that a came to Seoul. South Korea has termed the attack an undesirable breach of their territory.
Tension has been high throughout 2022 with the peninsula facing the launch of over 50 missiles from the north with one ballistic missile passing over Japanese territory.
An American nuclear submarine is also in South Korean waters as part of Vigilant Storm, a series of joint exercises with South Korea involving hundreds of warplanes from both allies.