South Korea detects shots apparently fired by North Korea

A woman looks north from an observation deck near the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas in Paju, South Korea, March 24, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s military said on Sunday it had tracked what appeared to be shots fired by North Korea, possibly from multiple rocket launchers.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff announced that the shots were detected after 6 p.m. and that the military had beefed up monitoring and alert levels, without mentioning any further response.

North Korea often tests MLR missiles during military exercises, and in recent years has also developed larger versions of these missiles. Smaller missiles and missiles are seen as central to North Korea’s plans to strike targets in South Korea in the event of a conflict.

North Korea this year tested a range of missiles, including its largest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) to its smallest MLR. All are prohibited by UN Security Council resolutions that have imposed sanctions on North Korea’s missile development.

South Korea is seeking to implement a $2.6 billion artillery interception system, similar to Israel’s “Iron Dome” system, designed to protect against North Korea’s arsenal of long-range guns and missiles.

Much of the area around Seoul, the capital, is home to about half of the population of 52 million, and is within range of North Korea’s long-range guns and multiple rocket launchers.

The United States is stationed around 28,500 troops in South Korea, where they are training alongside South Korean forces to confront the North. The Allies conducted their own missile exercises in response to some of North Korea’s previous launches.

(Reporting by Byung Wook Kim and Josh Smith) Editing by Alison Williams and Barbara Lewis

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