North Korea has built live-fire training facilities on coastal islands and beaches proximal to the South, and in 2010 shelled a South Korean island, killing four South Koreans and injuring 19.
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U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday signed a bill to strengthen U.S. economic sanctions against North Korea into law, while South Korea has said it will completely suspend operations at the joint industrial zone in North Korea’s border city of Kaesong.
Along with her pointed criticism of Kim Jong Un’s regime, Park’s government has also resumed cross-border propaganda broadcasts and shut down a factory park just north of the Demilitarized Zone that had been jointly run by the rivals. Seoul also has started preparatory talks with Washington on deploying a sophisticated missile defense system in South Korea in attempts to tighten screws on Pyongyang.
Saturday’s firing, heard from the island of Baengnyeong, was probably aimed in a northwestern direction from the North’s shore as part of an exercise, a South Korean defence ministry official said by telephone, asking not to be named.
Residents were asked to remain alert for a possible evacuation, while nearby fishing boats were also requested to return to their ports, it added.
The South Korean military said Saturday it has completed collecting debris from the three-stage rocket North Korea launched earlier this month, successfully collecting two pieces of debris presumed to be from the launch. “We believe there are no more significant debris left”, a South Korean military official said, according to Yonhap.
Calling the order a direct threats to people’s lives and safety in South Korea, Kim Sung-woo said the possibility for North Korean terror attacks against the South has increased more than ever.
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The United States, along with Asian allies South Korean and Japan, are spearheading efforts at the UN Security Council for a strong resolution that will impose harsh sanctions on Pyongyang over the recent nuclear test and rocket launch.
