(MENAFN) South Korean military officials reported that North Korea launched multiple artillery shells while the US defense chief visited the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the Koreas, according to local reports.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said that on Monday, North Korea fired about 10 shells from a multiple rocket launcher system toward waters in the northern Yellow Sea, less than an hour before US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrived at Camp Bonifas in the Joint Security Area (JSA). Hegseth was visiting the DMZ alongside South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back.

The two defense chiefs toured Observation Post Ouellette, a UN Command facility near the Military Demarcation Line, marking the first joint visit by their positions to the buffer zone since 2017.

South Korea’s military noted that North Korea had also fired another 10 artillery shells on Saturday. "Our military is closely monitoring North Korea's various activities under a steadfast South Korea-US combined defense posture and maintains capabilities and a posture capable of overwhelmingly responding to any threat," the JCS stated.

Last month, North Korea launched multiple short-range ballistic missiles shortly before a visit by US President Donald Trump to the country.

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