S. Korea says N. Korea fired artillery rounds near border

By KIM TONG-HYUNG
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s military says North Korea has fired about 130 suspected artillery rounds into the water near their western and eastern sea borders, the latest military action contributing to worsening relations between the neighbors. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff says the weapons fell within the northern side of buffer zones created under a 2018 inter-Korean agreement to reduce military tensions. There were no immediate reports of shells falling inside South Korean territorial waters. South Korea’s military says it communicated a verbal warning to North Korea over the firings and urged it to abide by the agreement. The North Korean firings were possibly a response to South Korean artillery exercises scheduled from Monday to Wednesday near an inland border town.