SEOUL — South Korea conducted live-fire artillery drills near the border with North Korea on Tuesday for the first time in six years, signaling a robust military stance following the suspension of a tension-reduction pact with the North. The Army reported that the exercises, which included K9 and K105A1 self-propelled howitzers, were carried out in the Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces.
According to Yonhap News Agency, The drills resumed nearly a month after South Korea ended the 2018 inter-Korean military agreement on June 4, in response to North Korea's provocative actions, such as trash balloon campaigns and GPS signal disruptions near border islands. The suspension of the agreement allowed for the reactivation of various military exercises previously restricted by buffer zones on land and at sea, as well as designated no-fly zones near the border. This military activity is part of South Korea's broader effort to strengthen its defenses along the heavily militarized border, coming a week after the Marine Corps conducted its first full-scale live-fire exercise in seven years.