South Korea fighter jets take flight after North Korea turns up the volume on missile firing

More than 80 South Korean fighter jets took to the skies on Friday as a precautionary measure in response to North Korean military air exercises, according to the armed forces in Seoul.

Seoul, South Korea – More than 80 South Korean fighter jets took to the skies on Friday as a precautionary measure in response to North Korean military air exercises, according to the armed forces in Seoul.

A South Korean soldier at a guard post near the demilitarized zone separating North and South Korea, who have ramped up tensions with jets and artillery fire.
A South Korean soldier at a guard post near the demilitarized zone separating North and South Korea, who have ramped up tensions with jets and artillery fire.  © REUTERS

More than 180 North Korean fighter jets were detected in North Korean airspace on Friday, above the ground and off the east and west coast, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. Some had carried out firing exercises.

No border violations were known of by the early evening.

This week, North Korea has tested more than 25 missiles according to Seoul, including what South Korea believes to be an intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of several thousand feet and capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

Earlier on Friday, South Korea said that Pyongyang had fired shots along the countries' disputed sea border off the east coast of the Korean peninsula.

Some 80 artillery shells were fired late Thursday into the buffer zone in the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, the JCS said.

North Korea and South Korea go head-to-head over missile firing

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (fourth from r.) and South Korea's Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-sup (third from r.) pose during a visit at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Thursday. The meeting between the leaders comes following North Korea's launch of three short-range ballistic missiles into the oceans off its east coast.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (fourth from r.) and South Korea's Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-sup (third from r.) pose during a visit at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Thursday. The meeting between the leaders comes following North Korea's launch of three short-range ballistic missiles into the oceans off its east coast.  © POOL / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

The maritime buffer zones near the heavily fortified border dividing the two countries were established in 2018 to reduce tensions. South Korea accused its northern neighbor of violating the joint military agreement that set them up.

The UN Security Council is addressing the situation on the Korean peninsula at an emergency meeting on Friday.

Despite international criticism, North Korea has been carrying out missile tests at an unusually high frequency since the end of September.

The latest activity is seen in South Korea as a reaction to the largest air exercise to be conducted by South Korean and US forces in several years, which kicked off on Monday.

The "Vigilant Storm" maneuver was set to last until Friday but was extended to Saturday in response to North Korea's latest missile tests, South Korean broadcasters reported, citing South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong Sup.

North Korea has accused both countries of "reckless" military provocation and threatened countermeasures.

The government in Pyongyang has said in its own statements that its recent tests were intended to simulate the firing of tactical nuclear weapons at South Korean airfields.

Cover photo: REUTERS

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