The Marine Corps on Wednesday held a live-fire exercise on islands near the western inter-Korean maritime border.

According to a media notice issued by the Marine Corps on Wednesday, units stationed on the islands of Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong fired approximately 170 rounds using weapons including K9 self-propelled howitzers.

The latest drill is the third of its kind this year, with the most recent having taken place on June 25. 

The military said the exercise is a "routine and defensive" drill held in waters south of the Northern Limit Line. 

The military was previously conducting live-fire exercises near the maritime border three to four times a year but suspended them in 2018 after the two Koreas signed the Comprehensive Military Agreement, which prohibits military drills in border areas. 

Exercises resumed in June of last year after the South suspended the inter-Korean military agreement in response to the North flying trash-laden balloons across the border.