N.Korea Fires More Artillery Shells at Inter-Korean Buffer Zone

North Korea fired another 100 artillery rounds on Tuesday night into a buffer zone that was established under a 2018 military pact with South Korea aimed at reducing cross-border tensions.

The North already fired 560 artillery rounds into the buffer zone last week. A South Korean military official said, "North Korea usually refrains from provocations when China's Communist Party Congress is in session, but it has done so this time without any concern."

According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff here, the North fired more than 100 rounds from howitzers at around 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

The barrages could be seen from South Korea's Baeknyeong Island, which is just about 15 km from North Korea's west coast.

"North Korea's continued provocations undermine peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and the international community. We strongly urge North Korea to immediately halt these actions," the JCS said.

It added that the South Korean and U.S. militaries are closely monitoring the situation.

Last week, the North launched a series of provocations ranging from threatening aircraft maneuvers to ballistic missile launches and artillery barrages.

South Korean and U.S. intelligence agencies believe North Korea is highly likely to conduct another nuclear test after the Chinese party congress ends late this month and before U.S. mid-term elections on Nov. 8.