North and South Korea fired missiles off the coasts of each country, the first to land on the sea.
Seoul retaliated on Wednesday (11/2) three hours after Pyongyang launched a missile that landed less than 60km from the city of Sokcho on the South Korean coast.
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The South Korean military said this was an “unacceptable” violation of its territory.
And in response, they fired three air-to-ground missiles that officials said fell a similar distance beyond the Northern Demarcation Line (NLL).
This demarcation line marks the midpoint in the sea between North and South Korea, but the North never adopted the maritime boundary.
North Korea on Tuesday warned that South Korea and the United States would pay “the most horrific price in history” if joint military exercises continue, and are seen as a veiled threat to the North’s development of nuclear weapons.
The North is expected to resume nuclear weapons tests shortly after a five-year hiatus, with US and South Korean intelligence saying Pyongyang has completed all necessary preparations.
The tit-for-tat-to-tooth missile launches took place in South Korea during a period of national mourning after a riot that killed more than 150 people during a Halloween celebration on the streets of Seoul over the weekend.
North Korea fired at least 10 missiles in east and west directions on Wednesday, according to South Korean officials.
Launched before 9 am (00:00 GMT) on Wednesday, at least one of the North Korean missiles crashed about 26 km south of the border, 57 km east of Sokcho and 167 km northwest of Ulleung Island.
In Ulleung, it triggered air raid sirens where residents were told to go to underground bunkers.
The launch was immediately detected by South Korean and Japanese officials, who immediately condemned the escalation of Pyongyang.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol described the launch as an “effective territorial invasion” and promised a “quick and firm response”, even though the missile fell outside South Korean territorial waters.
Under international law, countries can claim as a territory a strip of up to 12 nautical miles (just over 22 km) from their coast.
Under international law, countries can only establish territorial claims within 12 nautical miles of the sea along their coasts. Yoon made it his policy to take a firm stance against North Korea.
About three hours later, the South fired three precision air-to-surface missiles from warplanes into the sea off the east coast of North Korea.
The firing represents a sharp escalation in hostilities on the peninsula this year, with more than 50 missiles launched from North Korea, including a ballistic missile that flew over Japan.
On Monday, a US nuclear-powered submarine arrived off the coast of South Korea as part of joint exercises between the two countries that began in August.
– This text was published at https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/internacional-63483389.
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source: Noticias
