By Kwanwoo Jun
SEOUL--North Korea fired artillery across its maritime border with South Korea in the Yellow Sea on Monday as part of a military drill, prompting South Korea to return fire in the latest reminder of the unstable security situation on the Korean peninsula.
All shells from both sides landed in the sea, the South's Defense Ministry said.
"Some of the North's artillery shells fell in waters south of the maritime border, and the South, in response, fired back into waters north of the sea border according to the proper field-manual procedures, " said Kwon Ki-hyeon, a defense ministry spokesman.
Mr. Kwon said the North used its artillery and multiple rocket launchers to fire about 500 rounds, 100 of which landed in the southern waters. The South used its K-9 howitzers to fire back about 300 rounds in return.
Residents of the South Korean islands of Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong in the area were taken into shelters during the exchange of fire, which began just after midday local time, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
The South's coast guard said it suspended all ferry services to the frontline islands in the afternoon, while fishing was banned in the area all day long.
The exchange of fire was across the so-called Northern Limit Line, the disputed maritime border off the western coast of the peninsula. In 2010, North Korea shelled the island of Yeonpyeong, killing two soldiers and two civilians.
The area has also been the site of deadly naval clashes in recent years. North Korea doesn't recognize the border, which was drawn by United Nations forces after the Korean War of 1950-1953.
Last week, a North Korean fishing boat was detained after crossing the border. The fishermen subsequently claimed on North Korean state television to have been beaten during the detention, a charge that South Korea denies.
On Monday morning, North Korea informed the South Korean side that it would conduct a live-fire exercise from its western coast.
South Korean military authorities declined to provide further details of their response. South Korea's Yonhap news agency said F-15K fighter jets scrambled to the area and military ships remained on standby near the maritime border.
The latest skirmish along the sea border came a day after Pyongyang's foreign ministry threatened to conduct "a new form of nuclear test" after its third atomic bomb test a year ago heightened tensions and prompted tougher United Nations sanctions against the country.
The warning stoked fears that North Korea may have made progress in manufacturing uranium-based bombs--a second route to nuclear weapons alongside its existing plutonium-based program.
Seoul's foreign ministry immediately warned Pyongyang would "pay a price" for conducting another nuclear bomb test. There was no immediate sign of the North preparing to detonate nuclear devices.
In the past few weeks, the North has also launched a volley of short- and mid-range ballistic missiles off its east coast, which the U.N. Security Council condemned last Thursday.
Despite the inter-Korean sabre rattling, Seoul's stock market remained little affected with the South's benchmark Kospi index closing Monday up 0.2%.
Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com
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