North Korea on Monday fired more than one hundred coastal artillery shells into disputed inter-Korean waters, adding to the mounting tensions between the two countries.
The firings followed five days of South Korean naval exercises near the maritime border.
North Korea had already threatened retaliation in a response to joint U.S.-South Korea exercises in the Yellow Sea in July.
The tensions between both Koreas have risen since the North was found responsible for the sinking of South Korean warship in March that killed 46 sailors.
The North has strongly denied the accusation and has warned that any punitive sanctions would trigger war.
Washington criticized Pyongyang for firing the artillery shells, saying it is unclear what goals the North is trying to achieve.
“It is not a helpful sign by North Korea, and this is exactly the kind of behavior that we would like to see North Korea avoid,” State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters.
Crowley said that the firing of a very large number of rounds is not the best way to reduce tension in the region.
“If past is prologue, are we likely to see more provocations? Regrettably, the answer is we are likely to see more provocations,” he added.
{etRelate 39841}On Sunday, the South Korean coast guard reported that North Korea had seized a South Korean fishing boat and its crewmembers when it entered the North’s exclusive economic zone off the east coast in the northern East Sea.
Seoul has demanded that North Korea free the crew as soon as possible; so far Pyongyang has not responded.
The firings followed five days of South Korean naval exercises near the maritime border.
North Korea had already threatened retaliation in a response to joint U.S.-South Korea exercises in the Yellow Sea in July.
The tensions between both Koreas have risen since the North was found responsible for the sinking of South Korean warship in March that killed 46 sailors.
The North has strongly denied the accusation and has warned that any punitive sanctions would trigger war.
Washington criticized Pyongyang for firing the artillery shells, saying it is unclear what goals the North is trying to achieve.
“It is not a helpful sign by North Korea, and this is exactly the kind of behavior that we would like to see North Korea avoid,” State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters.
Crowley said that the firing of a very large number of rounds is not the best way to reduce tension in the region.
“If past is prologue, are we likely to see more provocations? Regrettably, the answer is we are likely to see more provocations,” he added.
{etRelate 39841}On Sunday, the South Korean coast guard reported that North Korea had seized a South Korean fishing boat and its crewmembers when it entered the North’s exclusive economic zone off the east coast in the northern East Sea.
Seoul has demanded that North Korea free the crew as soon as possible; so far Pyongyang has not responded.
