Tensions escalated on the divided Korean peninsula yesterday as both sides traded live fire into the sea across their disputed maritime border, after a North Korean military exercise dropped shells into South Korean waters.

North Korea fired about 500 rounds of artillery into the waters north of the Northern Limit Line in the Yellow Sea, in a three-hour drill that started at around noon.

About 100 of the shells landed in South Korean waters, prompting the South to fire more than 300 shots in return, its Defence Ministry said.

Neither side seemed to be firing at a fixed target, but as a precaution, residents on South Korean border islands were evacuated to shelters, and the military dispatched fighter jets to survey the sea border.

… Associate research fellow Sarah Teo from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, who specialises in Korea peninsula affairs, said North Korea’s action was just a “show of force” in response to recent events, including the United Nations Security Council’s condemnation of its latest ballistic missile tests.

It is unlikely to lead to war, she added.

TENSIONS escalated on the divided Korean peninsula yesterday as both sides traded live fire into the sea across their disputed maritime border, after a North Korean military exercise dropped shells into South Korean waters.

North Korea fired about 500 rounds of artillery into the waters north of the Northern Limit Line in the Yellow Sea, in a three-hour drill that started at around noon.

About 100 of the shells landed in South Korean waters, prompting the South to fire more than 300 shots in return, its Defence Ministry said.

Neither side seemed to be firing at a fixed target, but as a precaution, residents on South Korean border islands were evacuated to shelters, and the military dispatched fighter jets to survey the sea border.

… Associate research fellow Sarah Teo from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, who specialises in Korea peninsula affairs, said North Korea’s action was just a “show of force” in response to recent events, including the United Nations Security Council’s condemnation of its latest ballistic missile tests.

It is unlikely to lead to war, she added.

… Ms Teo also cautioned: “The biggest concern is the risk of miscalculation. Both sides may think they have things under control, but a misstep could result in tensions escalating.”