South Korea fires about 400 artillery shells at North in response

On Friday afternoon, South Korean army units conducted fire drills using self-propelled howitzers and tanks on the islands of Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong. This was reported by the representative of the Ministry of National Defense of South Korea, Yonhap News Agency reports.

The South fired some 400 rounds of artillery shells into the maritime buffer zone, double the amount fired by the North.

The South Korean military fired artillery shots into the buffer zone for the first time since the signing of the 2018 accord. 

South Korea's Army had said Thursday that South Korea and the United States held a joint live-fire exercise near the border with North Korea, aimed at bolstering their combined operational capabilities against North Korea's military threats.

North Korea on Friday warned against such provocations under the guise of shoring up readiness, saying its armed forces will demonstrate "tough counteraction on an unprecedented level."