▲ This footage, taken from North Korea's Korean Central Television on Jan. 7, 2024, shows the North's military detonating explosives. Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, claimed the North conducted a "deceptive operation" by detonating explosives simulating the sound of 130 mm coastal artillery the previous day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

N Korea-artillery firing

S. Korean military reaffirms N. Korea's Jan. 6 firing drills

By Kim Eun-jung

SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean military on Monday reaffirmed that North Korea conducted live-fire drills from its western coast Saturday, denying Pyongyang's claims it detonated explosives as "a deceptive operation."

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said North Korea fired about 60 rounds of shells in waters off its west coast Saturday, but North Korea claimed it detonated explosives 60 times to simulate the sound of 130 mm coastal artillery.

The JCS said it detected sounds of both artillery firings and explosive detonations Saturday, reaffirming its assessment that the North staged live-fire drills from its western coast for three consecutive days from Friday.

"Our military has the capability of distinguishing the sound of explosions and artillery firings. As a result, we unveiled the number of firings and location after separately detecting explosions and firings," JCS spokesperson Col. Lee Sung-jun said in a regular press briefing.

According to military sources, the South Korean military detected the North blew up explosives 10 times before and after Saturday's shelling, along with their trajectories.

"It was the first time that North Korea employed such a tactic, which was seen as its attempt to manipulate the South Korean military," the source said, asking for anonymity.

Lee said Pyongyang's Sunday statement that deride South Korean military's detection capability as part of its "psychological warfare" aimed at solidifying internal unity and stirring up conflict among South Koreans.

The JCS said the North's consecutive live-fire drills effectively nullified maritime buffer zones, which were created under a 2018 inter-Korean agreement to prevent accidental clashes.

"Buffer zones that ban hostile acts no longer exist ... Our military will carry out firing drills on the northwestern islands in accordance with our own plan," Lee said.

The JCS said it will resume artillery firings and drills in land and maritime buffer zones in response to the North's provocations.

The latest saber-rattling came after Pyongyang in November vowed to restore military measures halted under a 2018 inter-Korean military agreement, which set up buffer zones in land, sea and air, and banned live-fire drills near the border area to prevent accidental clashes.

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