Recently, there has been a series of tense events in East Asia, the most notable of which is North Korea's response to South Korea. North Korean forces reportedly fired more than 200 coastal shells in South Korea's "Northwest Islands region" from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on January 5. Fortunately, all of these shells landed on the "Northern Limit Line" on the North Korean side and did not cause any harm to the South Korean team and the islanders. This is the first time in a year and a month that North Korea has conducted another artillery drill in the maritime buffer zone between the two Koreas.
In other words, the South Korean team carried out a sea shot in response on the northwestern islands. Specifically, the ROK Navy's 6th Brigade and Yeonpyeong Island units began firing at sea at 3 p.m. using K9 self-propelled guns and tank guns. This is the first time since September 2018 that the South Korean military has deployed marines from the northwest islands to conduct a firing exercise at sea since the signing of a military agreement between the two Koreas.
Behind this incident can be traced back to a series of large-scale military exercises conducted by South Korea at the beginning of the new year. From December 29, 2023 to January 4, 2024, South Korea and the United States conducted a seven-day joint combat shooting training codenamed "fighttonight," which means "fight tonight" or "fight tonight." In the area near the demarcation line between the two Koreas, the ROK and US militaries dispatched 110 units of equipment, including aircraft, main battle tanks, armored vehicles, wheeled infantry fighting vehicles, armored bridge-building vehicles, and armored bulldozers.
Specifically, on January 1 and 2, several divisions of the ROK Army conducted large-scale artillery bombardment and mechanized unit maneuver exercises in areas close to the inter-Korean military demarcation line, such as Hwacheon, Gangwon Province and Paju, Gyeonggi Province. On January 3, the South Korean Navy dispatched a number of destroyers, frigates and missile boats to conduct naval gun firing and maritime maneuver exercises in the waters around the peninsula. What's more, South Korea's Yoon Suk-yeol said in his 2024 New Year's address that North Korea's nuclear and missile threat would be "blocked at the source" this year.
In response to a series of military drills for the South Korean military's New Year, North Korea issued a statement on January 2 condemning Yoon's New Year's speech as "stupid and reckless" and expressing hostility towards South Korea. Then, North Korea's official news agency, the Korean Central News Agency, published an article on January 4 in which it harshly criticized Yoon Suk-yeol** for his continued military provocations and said that clashes were likely to occur this year.
In response, North Korea conducted artillery drills on Jan. 5, but the North's response was relatively restrained, limiting the shooting to its own waters and refraining from continuing to shell South Korean islands. Unlike last time, this time the shells did not actually hit the target. At the same time, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un also went to the "important military trolley production plant" on the same day to give guidance on the production of intercontinental strategic missile launchers.
The DPRK's response was marked only by artillery drills in its own waters, which is worth noting. In contrast, shells from the last shelling drill hit South Korean islands. The restrained response suggests that North Korea has chosen a more calm and restrained approach to South Korea's military exercises instead of acting aggressively.
In addition, it is worth mentioning that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un also directed the production of intercontinental strategic missile launchers on the day of the artillery drills. According to reports, at least 5 complete ICBM launchers are lined up, at least 3 ICBM launch barrels are waiting to be deployed, and 2 unloaded ICBM launchers are in the distance. This image fully demonstrates North Korea's missile deterrence capabilities and hints at further development of North Korea's military capabilities.
The move could be seen as North Korea's assertion of its strong military capabilities in response to South Korea's military provocations and threats. Although the number of launch equipment in North Korea exceeds the scale previously demonstrated, it is worth noting that North Korean officials did not specifically mention the type and performance of the missiles in their reports.
China's foreign policy has always advocated maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and resolving the Korean Peninsula issue through dialogue and consultation. Regarding the conflict between the two Koreas and the escalation of tensions, a spokesperson for China said at a press briefing that China is closely monitoring the development and changes of the situation on the Korean Peninsula, and called on all parties to remain calm and restrained, avoid exacerbating tensions, and create conditions for the resumption of meaningful dialogue.
It should be noted that North Korea's relations with South Korea and the United States are directly related to China's security interests and regional stability. Therefore, China needs to take into account the interests of all parties in handling the Korean Peninsula issue and strive to promote the settlement of the issue through dialogue and consultation so as to avoid the occurrence of conflict.
To sum up, the current situation on the Korean Peninsula is tense, and the conflict between the two Koreas continues. North Korea responded to South Korea's military exercises and demonstrated the further development of its missile deterrent capabilities. China calls on all parties to remain calm and exercise restraint and create conditions for the resumption of dialogue. We need to continue to monitor developments in the region as a way to assess possible future events.