Both the two sides of the DPRK have shelled the border buffer zone.
South Korea's Joint Staff Headquarters held an emergency press conference on January 5, saying that the North Korean military's shore defense artillery unit conducted artillery training in the western waters of the peninsula from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. local time that day. More than 200 rounds of coastal artillery were fired at the areas north of Yeonpyeong Island and Baeknyeong Island, and this time the shells fired by the DPRK army landed in the buffer zone of the two sides along the so-called "northern limit line" between the DPRK and the ROK. Although there were no losses to the people and the military in South Korea, this was a state of emergency.
South Korea's Joint Staff Headquarters believes that this is a resumption of artillery training in the buffer zone of the West Sea after North Korea unilaterally abrogated the so-called "9.19 South Korea-North Korea Military Agreement" on November 23, 2023.
In order to respond to the DPRK's actions, the artillery of the ROK Navy's 6th Brigade on Baeknyeong Island and Yeonpyeong Island's Yeonpyeong Unit also began to conduct naval firing training using K9 self-propelled guns and tank guns at around 3 p.m. on January 5. The South Korean side claimed that more than 400 rounds were fired.
The inter-Korean maritime buffer zone was established in accordance with the September 19 inter-Korean military agreement signed between the two Koreas in 2018 to prevent armed conflict at sea in the western and eastern waters of the peninsula. But last November, after North Korea successfully launched a reconnaissance satellite, South Korea terminated some of the provisions of the 9/19 military agreement.
In response, North Korea announced in November that its military would no longer be bound by the 9/19 military agreement and would immediately resume all military measures that had been suspended. At that time, the North Korean side also said that if an irreparable conflict broke out between the two Koreas, South Korea would bear full responsibility.
The sea area of Yeonpyeong Island is an unstable area. On August 10, 2011, North Korea shelled Yeonpyeong Island. Two South Korean soldiers and two islanders were shot and killed, and 15 others were wounded. Half a year before the bombardment of Yeonpyeong Island, there was also an attack on the "Cheonan" ship. A total of 46 of the 104 officers and soldiers above the ROK army were killed. The South Korean military report accused North Korea of carrying out a deadly attack on submarine-launched torpedoes. After a lapse of 13 years, there was another act of mutual shelling of the border buffer zone in this place.
As for why the bombardment of the buffer zone was carried out, the North Korean military issued a statement emphasizing that the launch of coastal artillery was a New Year's training for the South Korean army. If the South Korean army uses this as an excuse to launch a provocation, the North Korean army will respond strongly.
In fact, in the first week of the new year, the ROK Army and the 2nd Infantry Division of the US Army in South Korea conducted a multi-day exercise. At present, the US military in South Korea maintains the scale of more than 28,500 officers and soldiers. North Korea's reaction to such Xi is usually strong, but the way it is expressed is sometimes different.
The DPRK's military action also comes at a time when the DPRK is making a strategic readjustment of its relations between the North and the South. At the end of last year, the supreme leader of the DPRK stressed at a meeting of the Workers' Party that inter-Korean relations are no longer defined as "homo-ethnic relations" but are completely hostile to the out-and-out level. The reunification of the Korean Peninsula is no longer a policy goal of the DPRK, and the "belligerent relations" between the two Koreas have been confirmed and solidified. Accordingly, the supreme leader of the DPRK also demanded that the DPRK accelerate its efforts to build up its ability to respond to an overwhelming war and make all military preparations.
North Korea's shelling of the buffer zone may also be a fulfillment of the strategic demands of the North Korean supreme leader. Whether it is to meet the requirements of strategic adjustment or to deal with the threat of military exercises Xi the United States and South Korea, the DPRK is responding to the military pressure of the United States and South Korea with strong, unyielding and enterprising actions.
In this regard alone, the DPRK's fighting will and tenacious spirit are still commendable.