After Kim Jong-un Warning, North Korea Flies Warplanes Near South Korean Border

Tensions continue to rise between North and South Korea, with the North having flown warplanes near the shared border of both nations. As North Korea launched its 27th missile test, South Korea conducted live-fire artillery drills.

The Washington Post reported that a North Korean aircraft flew around the no-fly zone between 10:30 p.m. Thursday and 12:20 a.m. Friday after Pyongyang launched its 27th missile this year, said South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. The North Korean plane was just around 12 kilometers from the northern limit of the Military Demarcation Line, which runs down the Demilitarized Zone separating the rival nations. In response to the North’s actions, South Korea scrambled its own F-35 fighter jets.

North Korean state media said the country merely responded to South Korea’s live-fire drill near the border which lasted over 10 hours as a show of Pyongyang's readiness to launch nuclear warheads. The South Korean military confirmed that it did conduct the exercise, but at a distance of 10 kilometers from the border, remarking that the drill did not violate any exercise agreements with the North. Seoul said that the North violated agreements on Friday by firing some 170 rounds of artillery into the sea off its western coast. The Joint Chiefs of Staff remarked that artillery firing in maritime buffer zones is a violation of the Sept. 19 agreement, and North Korea’s series of missile tests was a violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

The recent surge in military activity comes amid a warning by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, saying his nuclear forces are ready for an “actual war.” Kim said that North Korea’s nuclear combat forces proved yet again their preparedness for a real war, to bring their enemies under their power.

Japan’s Defence Minister, Yasukazu Hamada condemned one of North Korea’s latest missile tests which flew over Japanese territory, remarking that the missile flew on an “irregular” trajectory, which may be a reference to describe the KN-23, which is said to be modeled after Russia’s Iskander Missile. He added that regardless of the intention, North Korea’s missile tests are impermissible and Japan cannot overlook its rapid advancement in such technology.