Seoul announces that Pyongyang once again fired artillery shells near the border

North Korea on Saturday launched a new round of artillery drills near the disputed maritime border, South Korean officials said.

Seoul announces that Pyongyang once again fired artillery shells near the borderPyongyang fires 200 artillery shells and Seoul evacuates residents of one of the islands

Pyongyang: We fired artillery shells in response to South Korean exercises

The United States calls on North Korea to stop its actions and return to diplomacy

This comes a day after previous exercises conducted by North Korea, which prompted its southern neighbor to respond with its own exercises in the same area.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that North Korea fired more than 60 rounds near the western maritime border on Saturday afternoon.

She added that South Korea strongly urges North Korea to stop actions that increase tensions.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed that South Korea will take similar military steps if North Korea continues its artillery training, which poses a threat to South Korean citizens.

She said that South Korea would deal "with great force" with any provocations by North Korea.

On Friday, North Korea fired about 200 artillery shells near the area, prompting South Korea to conduct its own firing drills in response.

The South Korean Ministry of Defense said that forces on two border islands fired artillery shells south of the maritime border. Local media reported that South Korea fired 400 rounds.

Before the South Korean drills, authorities asked residents on 5 major islands near the western maritime border to evacuate to safe places due to fears of North Korea firing back, and the evacuation order was lifted a few hours later. 

A person was found alive in a house destroyed by the earthquake in Japan

Kyodo reported that a person was found alive in a house destroyed by the earthquake on Japan's Noto Peninsula 4 days after the earthquake.

The agency added that the local police received a report stating that there was a living person in a house destroyed by an earthquake in the city of Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, adding that rescue operations were still underway.

A series of large earthquakes occurred on January 1 in the Noto Peninsula area of ​​Ishikawa Prefecture on the western coast of Japan, the strongest of which was 7.6 on the Richter scale. The earthquakes have so far resulted in the death of 126 people, the injury of 516 others, and the partial or complete destruction of more than 365 homes.