N.Korea fires more than 200 artillery shells off its west coast

North Korea's military conducted coastal artillery fire in the western part of the country on Friday.

The North Korean military fired more than 200 artillery shells at the Jangsan Cape area north of Baekryeong Island and the Sangsan Cape area north of Yeonpyeong Island for two hours from 9 a.m. on the day, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

There was no damage to the South Korean people and military, and the firing point was north of the West Sea's Northern Limit Line (NLL), the Joint Chiefs of Staff added.

 South Korea has ordered civilians on the western border island of Yeonpyeong Island to evacuate to shelters, officials said.

The maritime buffer zone was established around the NLL in the West and East Sea to prevent armed conflicts at sea in accordance with the September 19 inter-Korean military agreement signed in 2018.

Artillery and naval maneuvering exercises in the buffer zone violate the military agreement.

It has been one year and one month since the North Korean military conducted a live-fire drill in the NLL on December 6, 2022, in the Goseong-Keumgang area of Gangwon Province.

Write to Dong-Hyun Kim at 3code@hankyung.com