North & South Korea fire missiles across each other's maritime border for first time since divide

North and South Korea have both fired missiles yesterday across their maritime border for the first time since the peninsula was divided. South Korea has said that it has conducted air-to-surface missile tests in response to North Korean missile launches. Seoul said Pyongyang's firing was an unacceptable breach of its territory.

According to media reports, North Korea fired at least 10 missiles today, including one that landed close to South Korea's territorial waters and prompted a rare warning for people on an island to shelter in bunkers. 

South Korea's President, Yoon Suk-yeol in a statement said, the North Korean missile launch was



effectively a territorial invasion. The President also called a meeting of the National Security Council over the launch.

South Korea's Director of Operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Kang Shin-chul, said that the North Korean missile launch is very unusual and unacceptable as it fell close to South Korean territorial waters.

South Korea's Transport Ministry said some air routes in the sea off the east coast of the Korean peninsula have been closed. North Korea's latest launch comes as Seoul and Washington recently conducted their largest-ever joint air drills, which involve hundreds of warplanes from both sides.