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South Korean fighter jets during maneuvers on October 31
Photo: HANDOUT/AFP
Tensions between South and North Korea have escalated as the North continues to test missiles.
According to the South Korean military, the internationally isolated regime of dictator Kim Jong-un fired more than ten rockets of different types on the east and west coasts on Wednesday.
South Korea responded by launching its own missiles from fighter jets into the open sea north of the border line.
A spokesman for the South Korean Ministry of Defense justified the measure with the fact that a North Korean short-range missile had previously crossed the maritime border line in the east.
It is said to have landed in the sea just 60 kilometers off the South Korean coast.
This was the first time since the end of the Korean War in the 1950s that a North Korean missile landed in the sea near South Korean territorial waters.
An air alert was temporarily triggered on the South Korean island of Ulleung off the east coast, but it was lifted again early in the morning (local time).
Pyongyang sees South Korean maneuvers as a provocation
The timing of missile launches by both sides is delicate.
The largest air force exercise by the South Korean and US armed forces in years is currently underway.
North Korea had accused both countries of "reckless" military provocation and threatened that South Korea and the United States would have to pay "the most terrible price in history" for the joint exercise.
Washington, however, rejected the criticism from Pyongyang.
The multi-day maneuvers in South Korea had been prepared for a long time and served the common defense, said a Pentagon spokesman on Tuesday (local time).
North Korean test also across Japan
Despite international bans and ongoing criticism, North Korea has continued its missile test program in recent weeks and has already launched more than 50 missiles this year.
Most missiles are ballistic missiles with varying ranges.
Some of the rockets had also flown over nearby Japan at high altitude before they hit the Pacific.
At least three short-range ballistic missiles were among the missiles on Wednesday, South Korea said.
UN resolutions ban North Korea from testing ballistic missiles.
Depending on the design, these can be equipped with a nuclear warhead.
The authoritarian country has been at odds with the international community for years over its nuclear weapons program and is subject to severe sanctions.
North and South Korea formally remain at war
South Korea's military increased its alert after the neighboring country's new missile tests.
President Yoon Suk Yeol accused Pyongyang of provocation that "represents a virtual violation of our territory by a missile that crossed the Northern Border Line (NLL) for the first time since the (country) partition."
North Korea has to pay a price for this.
The so-called NLL (Northern Limit Line) was drawn by a UN command at the end of the Korean War (1950-53).
Since then it has practically served as an extension of the military demarcation line on the Korean peninsula.
This line has been widely observed by North Korea in the past, although North Korean fishing boats have repeatedly entered the neutral buffer zone south of the line.
The peninsula is still at war under international law.
The ceasefire agreement has not yet been replaced by a peace treaty.
fek/dpa/Reuters