North Korea fired around 17 missiles on Wednesday, with one of them going landing close to the sensitive maritime border between the two countries. Air raid sirens went off, and residents of a South Korean fled to underground shelters, according to a report by AP.
South Korea fired its own missiles in the same border region as an immediate response.
"Most Horrible Price in History"
The launches came after North Korea expressed dissatisfaction with the current military exercises between South Korea and the U.S., which it considers a practice for an invasion.
The North also threatened to resort to nuclear weapons to make the U.S. and South Korea "pay the most horrible price in history," as per A.P.
However, the White House reaffirmed that there is no hostile intent on the part of the U.S. toward North Korea and committed to cooperating with allies to halt North Korea's nuclear ambitions.
The missile launches come at the heels of a Halloween tragedy in the South after a crowd stampede killed more than 150 people, including K-pop singer Lee Ji Han.
The South's military reported that on Wednesday morning, North Korea launched at least 17 missiles, all of which were suspected surface-to-air missiles or short-range ballistic missiles.
The military added that the North launched roughly 100 artillery shells into the eastern maritime buffer zone that the two Koreas established in 2018 to lower tensions.
The recent firing of 17 missiles adds to a record number of daily weapon tests that have been conducted by North Korea in recent years.
One of the ballistic missiles was en route to Ulleung island in South Korea when it came to rest 167 kilometers (104 miles) northwest of the island.
Following that, the island received an air raid alert from South Korea's military, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the South. But in the latter hours of Wednesday, the military of South Korea declared that the island's air raid alert had been canceled.
One of the missiles came down 16 miles (26 kilometers) from the maritime boundary of the two nations. It landed in international waters but it was relatively distant from the border, off the east coast of South Korea, according to A.P.
"End of that Regime"
North Korea has launched a barrage of missiles into the ocean since the end of September in what it has referred to as mock tests of tactical nuclear weapons systems meant to strike targets in South Korea and the United States.
Last month, a report by the Pentagon's National Defense Strategy stated that any nuclear attack by North Korea against the United States or its allies and partners "will result in the end of that regime."
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Written by Jace Dela Cruz
