Rival Koreas conduct provocative drills along their tense sea boundary, escalating animosities

By HYUNG-JIN KIM and JIWON SONG
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The rival Koreas have fired artillery rounds into the sea as part of provocative drills along their disputed sea boundary, in violation of the fragile 2018 inter-Korean military agreement. Friday’s firing exercises are expected to escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea fired 200 rounds in the waters north of their western sea boundary. It was North Korea’s first front-line maritime firing exercise in about a year. In a tit-for-tat step, South Korea had its troops on two border islands fire artillery rounds south of the sea boundary later Friday. North Korea’s military didn’t immediately respond to that.