Since the 5th, North Korea has conducted unwarned artillery firing near the northernmost northwestern island in the western waters of South Korea as part of a joint military exercise between the United States and South Korea. This act violated the "919 Military Agreement" between the two Koreas more than 3,600 times. In response, South Korea sent 400 shells.
According to Yonhap News Agency, North Korea conducted unwarning artillery training around the northwest islands for three consecutive days, and the shells fell into the maritime buffer zone between the two Koreas, and some of the shells even landed as close as 7 kilometers north of the northern boundary line of the West Sea. This is the first time since December 2022 that North Korean artillery shells have fallen into the buffer zone after a year and a month.
During the Moon Jae-in** period, the 919 Military Agreement signed between the two Koreas stipulated the establishment of a maritime buffer zone along the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the western and eastern seas, and prohibited artillery bombardment and mobile training. At the same time, on land, the military demarcation line prevails, and the ROK and the DPRK have set up buffer zones in areas 5 kilometers wide to prohibit artillery shelling and field mobile training of troops at and above the regimental level. However, North Korea violated these agreements by firing artillery shells into the buffer zone near NLL in the western seas.
In response to North Korea's behavior, the South Korean team decided to resume routine military exercises in the land-sea buffer zone. In response to a question, Lee Seong-joon said that the South Korean team will not respond to the enemy's military actions in the vicinity of the northwest islands, but will instead conduct shooting drills according to the original plan.
In addition, in response to Kim Yo-jong, vice minister of the DPRK Labor Commission and Kim Jong-un's sister, who stated that "the DPRK did not carry out shelling in the western waters on the 6th, but introduced the first medicine", Ri Chengjun refuted the relevant statement as pure self-deception. He stressed that the ROK squadron can distinguish the difference between artillery and artillery shelling, and will announce the number and location of artillery shelling based on the situation detected a few days ago. He also analyzed that Kim Yo-jong's statement was aimed at uniting internal forces and stirring up contradictions within South Korea through psychological warfare.
Some experts have pointed out that although friction and accusations have occurred between the DPRK and the ROK from time to time, the "919 Military Agreement" reached by the DPRK and the ROK with great difficulty has become a waste of paper and the military buffer zone has now existed in name only, but there will be no war because neither side is sure of victory and cannot bear the price of war.