Firefight breaks out on Korean sea border

Yonhap news agency said that the militaries of North and South Korea exchanged artillery fire along their disputed western sea border.

Yonhap reported that the North fired several rounds of land-based artillery off the west coast today, two days after it designated two no-sail zones along the sea border.

Yonhap, citing no source, said South Korea’s military returned fire. The report didn’t provide further details.

South Korea’s Defence Ministry said it couldn’t immediately confirm the report.

The western sea border is a constant source of military tension between the two Koreas. Their navies fought a brief yet bloody gunbattle in November that left one North Korean sailor dead and three others wounded.