North Korea fired about one hundred artillery shells into the East Sea on Monday from a site near the military demarcation line in Goseong, Gangwon Province. The shells are presumed to be from 122-millimeter multiple rocket launchers.
 
Military authorities said the North fired northeast at 11:43 a.m. from a site some hundreds of meters north of the Northern Limit Line (NLL). It said the shells fell one to eight kilometers north of the NLL in the East Sea.
 
Military authorities said there are no signs yet that the firing has ended. It said it has strengthened surveillance in case the shells fall south of the maritime border.
 
It is extremely rare for the North Korean army to hold artillery drills immediately north of the NLL.
 
North Korea used the 122-millimeter multiple rocket launcher, which has an artillery range of ten to 20 kilometers, when it attacked Yeonpyeong Island in 2010. Its firepower is eight times stronger than the 122-millimeter howitzer.
 
North Korea has fired 97 short- and medium-range projectiles between late February and Sunday, including rockets from its new 300-millimeter multiple rocket launchers, Scud and Rodong missiles and FROG rockets.
 
North Korea has steadily moved its launch site to the south. On Sunday, it launched two Scud missiles to the East Sea from near Gaeseong, only 20 kilometers off the military demarcation line.