Two Koreas alternate warning pictures close to sea border amid tensions

SEOUL: North and South Korea exchanged warning pictures off the west coast on Monday, accusing one another of breaching their maritime borders amid heightened army rigidity.

The South’s Joint Chiefs of Workers (JCS) mentioned it broadcast warnings and fired warning pictures to see off a North Korean service provider vessel that crossed the Northern Restrict Line (NLL), the de facto sea boundary, at round 3.40 am (2.40am Singapore time).

The North’s army mentioned it fired 10 rocket artillery rounds after a South Korean navy ship violated the NLL and fired warning pictures “on the pretext of monitoring down an unidentified ship,” based on state media.

“We ordered preliminary countermeasures to strongly expel the enemy warship,” a spokesperson for the Common Workers of the North’s Korean Folks’s Military mentioned, based on the official KCNA information company.

The JCS mentioned it had performed a “regular operation” over the border intrusion, and referred to as the North’s transfer a violation of a 2018 bilateral army pact banning “hostile acts” within the border areas.

“We as soon as once more urge North Korea to instantly stop constant provocations and accusations which hurt the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula in addition to the worldwide group,” the JCS mentioned in an announcement.