South Korea Fires Missiles In Response To North's Launches Over Maritime Border

North Korea launched a missile towards the South, crossing the two countries' maritime border for the first time since the peninsula's division.

The short-range ballistic missile fell 60 kilometres (37 miles) south of Sokcho and triggered air-raid sirens on Ulleungdo island of South Korea. 

In response to the North, Seoul launched three missiles. President Yoon Suk-yeol of South Korea described Pyongyang's launch as an "effective territorial invasion."

According to the South Korean military, North Korea launched at least ten missiles "east and west" on Wednesday morning.

In reaction to the North's launch, South Korea's military claimed it launched three air-to-ground missiles north of its maritime border on the same day.

The military had previously said that it could not "tolerate this kind of North Korean provocative act, and will sternly and decisively respond under close South Korea-US coordination," according to a statement from the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

President Yoon Suk-yeol, they said, has ordered a "rapid response" to the recent aggression.

In response to North Korea's latest firings, the leaders of South Korea and Japan have both summoned national security talks.

North Korea’s recent aggression

Both countries detected the missiles shortly before 09:00 a.m. (local time) on Wednesday, including one that crossed the de facto sea border, the Northern Limit Line.

That missile had landed 26 kilometres (16 miles) south of the demarcation line, 57 kilometres east of the South Korean city of Sokcho and 167 kilometres north of Ulleungdo island.

According to Kang Shin-chul, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, this was "extremely rare and unacceptable" because it had come close to "territorial seas south of the Northern Limit Line for the first time" since the peninsula was separated.

The missiles were launched a day after Pyongyang warned the United States and South Korea to halt joint military exercises on the Korean Peninsula this week.

North Korea vowed on Tuesday that if the allies did not stop their drills, it would take "powerful" actions.

North Korea's missile launches on Wednesday follow a barrage of missiles launched last month, which it claimed were also in reaction to a joint exercise between the United States, South Korea and Japan. Its response had been taken as a "simulation" of a nuclear assault on the South.