S.Korea accuses North of violating 2018 accord after it launches ballistic missile

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said on Friday that North Korea's latest pre-dawn missile launch and artillery fire into "buffer zones" violated the 2018 agreement.

Yoon remarks came hours after North Korea fired another short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) into the East Sea at 1:49 a.m. Friday (1649GMT Thursday) and fired 170 artillery shots into maritime "buffer zones."

"We're looking into everything one by one, but it's correct that it's a violation of the Sept. 19 accord," Yoon was quoted by Yonhap News Agency as saying.

Yoon was referring to a 2018 agreement between the two countries, which created buffer zones along land and sea boundaries and no-fly zones above the border.

"We're building a readiness posture against North Korea's provocations without leaving any gaps and by doing our best," he added.

Earlier, the South Korean military claimed that warplanes from Pyongyang also flew near the border with South Korea.

"The provocative move came after more than 10 North Korean warplanes staged menacing flights close to the inter-Korean border, prompting the South Korean Air Force to scramble its F-35A stealth fighters and other assets to the scene," the military spokesman was quoted by the news agency as saying.

The SRBM was launched from the Sunan area of Pyongyang at midnight and later North Korean military fired artillery shots into the Yellow Sea from Majang-dong, Hwanghae Province, he said.

However, the North Korean military said the latest missile launch and artillery fire were in response to South Korea's "provocative action."

"South Korean army conducted artillery fire for about 10 hours near the forward defense area of the KPA Fifth Corps on Oct. 13, taking a serious note of this provocative action by the south Korean military in the frontline area, we took strong military countermeasures," a spokesman for the General Staff of the Korean People's Army said in a statement.

"The KPA sends a stern warning to the south Korean military inciting military tension in the frontline area with reckless action," the spokesman added.

On Wednesday, Pyongyang also fired two long-range strategic cruise missiles, involving units operating "tactical nukes, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

On Oct. 4, the U.S. and South Korean forces held live-fire joint drills after North Korea fired a missile that flew over Japan, the first such instance in five years.

Later, Pyongyang revealed that Kim Jong-un, its leader, had witnessed military exercises involving tactical nuclear units from Sept. 25 to Oct. 9, including the launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile on Oct. 4.

Tensions on the peninsula rose in 2020 when North Korea attacked and blew up the inter-Korean liaison office along the border. Seoul has threatened a strong response if Pyongyang "further worsens the situation."

However, tensions soared further recently after Seoul and Washington held joint military drills.