S. Korea protests N. Korea’s artillery drills via military communication lines

Posted on : 2019-11-27 17:02 KST Modified on : 2019-11-27 17:02 KST
Defense Ministry calls drill a violation of 2018’s inter-Korean military agreement
Footage of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un providing on-site guidance during an artillery drill on Changrin Islet was broadcasted by Korean Central Television on Nov. 25. (Yonhap News)
Footage of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un providing on-site guidance during an artillery drill on Changrin Islet was broadcasted by Korean Central Television on Nov. 25. (Yonhap News)

South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) announced on Nov. 26 that it had contacted North Korea on their military communication lines to protest an artillery drill carried out by a North Korean coastal battery.

“This morning, we relayed to North Korea via the military communication line in the Yellow Sea that its coastal battery drill was a violation of the Comprehensive Military Agreement and called on the North to refrain from repeating the drill, while also issuing a strong objection,” said MND spokesperson Choi Hyun-soo during a briefing on Tuesday. The Comprehensive Military Agreement (CMA) was concluded by South and North Korea on Sept. 19, 2018.

Following the verbal complaint, the MND faxed North Korea a written message to the same effect. That message reportedly urged the North to immediately halt all military activities that could aggravate military tensions along the border between South and North Korea and to strictly comply with the CMA to ensure that no more similar incidents occur.

The North Korean artillery drill reportedly occurred on the morning of Nov. 23, which was the ninth anniversary of the North’s bombardment of Yeonpyeong Island. The South Korean military reportedly detected what is presumed to be the sound of North Korea firing its coastal guns on that day.

On Nov. 25, two days later, North Korea’s state-run newspaper the Rodong Sinmun reported that Kim Jong-un had ordered the artillery drill while visiting Changrin Island, near the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the West Sea.

“We were in the middle of analyzing mysterious sounds that we’d detected on Nov. 23 when the report appeared in the North Korean media on Nov. 25. We concluded that the coastal guns had been fired,” said a source in the South Korean military. The military presumes that North Korea fired off its 76.2mm coastal guns, which have a range of 12km.

Former USFK commander says artillery drills could mean N. Korea doesn’t respect CMA

Vincent Brooks, former commander of US Forces Korea (USFK), said that North Korea’s artillery drill “could be a signal that they no longer respect the [inter-Korean] Comprehensive Military Agreement,” the Voice of America reported on Tuesday. Brooks, who was USFK commander when the CMA was concluded, regards the drill as a violation of the agreement. Changrin Island is inside the buffer zone in the Yellow Sea where the CMA prohibits firing by coastal batteries.

By Yoo Kang-moon, senior staff writer

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