Two Koreas exchange fire near western sea border

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SEOUL, Jan. 27 (Yonhap) -- The two Koreas fired at each other off waters near the
inter-Korean sea border Wednesday morning, Seoul officials confirmed, amid rising
tensions after the reclusive North declared the disputed area in the Yellow Sea
as a "no-sail" zone.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul said North Korea fired several artillery
shells into the northern part of the Northern Limit Line (NLL) around 9:05 a.m.
Wednesday. No casualties or injuries were reported, as both sides fired toward
the air, another government official said.
The clash comes less than three months after the divided Koreas engaged in their
first naval clash on the west coast in seven years after a North Korean ship
violated the sea border.
"We have confirmed North Korea's firing of several artillery shells, but they did
not cross the NLL. We are on high military alert," Park Sung-woo of Seoul's Joint
Chiefs of Staff told reporters.
The South Korean navy responded immediately by firing shoreline Vulcan cannons
with a range of 3-4 kilometers, an official at the presidential office said,
requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff and the defense ministry did not confirm whether Seoul
fired back at the North.
hayney@yna.co.kr
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