S.Korea says North fired artillery shells as US defense chief visited joint security area

ANKARA

The South Korean military on Tuesday claimed that North Korea fired multiple shells while the US defense chief visited the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, according to Yonhap News.

North Korea fired around 10 artillery shells from its multiple rocket launcher system toward waters off the northern Yellow Sea on Monday, said the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

The shells were fired less than an hour before US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's arrival at Camp Bonifas of the Joint Security Area (JSA) within the DMZ, for a joint visit to the tense border with South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back.

The two defense chiefs on Monday visited Observation Post Ouellette, the UN Command's military facility close to the Military Demarcation Line, and the Joint Security Area in the DMZ, marking the first joint visit to the buffer zone by the countries’ defense chiefs since 2017.

South Korea's military said that on Saturday, North Korea also fired another 10 artillery rocket shells.

"Our military is closely monitoring North Korea's various activities under a steadfast South Korea-US combined defense posture and maintains capabilities and a posture capable of overwhelmingly responding to any threat," the JCS said.

Last month, North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles, just about a week before US President Donald Trump visited South Korea.