Korean People's Army "Warning Artillery Fire... Overwhelming Military Action Against Enemy Provocation" (Comprehensive)

North General Staff Spokesperson Announcement
"Warning Live-Fire Shots Fired in Response"

Kim Jong-un, General Secretary of the Workers' Party of North Korea [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hee-jun] The North Korean military stated that it detected dozens of projectiles fired by the South Korean side towards the southeast direction and responded with counter-battery fire. This is interpreted as an attempt to once again shift the responsibility for military provocations onto the South.

According to the Korean Central News Agency on the 5th, the General Staff of the Korean People's Army announced under the spokesperson's name that "Between 8:30 AM and 3:50 PM on December 5, dozens of projectiles presumed to be multiple rocket launcher shells were fired towards the southeast from the direction of Ipyeong-ri, Cheorwon County, Gangwon Province, South Korea."

It continued, "An urgent order was issued to the frontline units of the People's Army to thoroughly maintain enemy situation monitoring and rapid counterattack readiness, and between 3:00 PM and 4:00 PM, more than 130 rounds of live ammunition naval artillery fire were conducted by the eastern and western frontline units for the purpose of warning and counteraction."

Furthermore, it threatened, "The General Staff of the Korean People's Army once again declares that it will calculate every provocative action of the enemy meticulously and respond with resolute and overwhelming military actions at all times," adding, "The enemy side must immediately cease military actions that escalate tensions in frontline proximity areas visible to the naked eye."

In particular, it added, "We sternly warn the enemy side not to ignite unnecessary tension escalation in the frontline area and to exercise restraint."

According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the military detected artillery fire presumed to be multiple rocket launcher shells, totaling over 130 rounds, from around 2:59 PM on the same day in the areas of Geumgang County, Gangwon Province, North Korea, and Jangsan Cape, South Hwanghae Province, towards the East and West Seas respectively. The impact points of the shells were within the maritime buffer zone north of the Northern Limit Line (NLL), violating the September 19 inter-Korean military agreement.

This is the first North Korean show of force involving missiles since the launch of the Hwasong-17 ICBM towards the East Sea from the Sunan area in Pyongyang on the 18th of last month, 17 days ago. This artillery fire is widely assessed as a strong reaction to the South Korean and U.S. Forces Korea's ongoing firing exercises, including multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), in the Cheorwon area of Gangwon Province.