The North Korean military has fired artillery shells from its multiple rocket launcher system twice in the past week, once during a summit between the leaders of South Korea and China and again when Seoul and Washington's defense chiefs visited the demilitarized zone.

Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff(JCS) said on Tuesday, the military detected the firing of around ten artillery shells toward waters off the northern Yellow Sea at around 3 p.m. on Saturday and around 4 p.m. on Monday.

Though not in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, the military reportedly assumes that Pyongyang fired 240mm long-range artillery both times, targeting Seoul and its surrounding area in an armed protest coinciding with major diplomatic and security events.

The North's firing of artillery rockets on Saturday took place around 30 minutes before President Lee Jae Myung welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to their summit venue in Gyeongju.

The firing on Monday also occurred about half an hour before U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrived at Camp Bonifas, a U.S. base south of the Joint Security Area, aboard a Black Hawk helicopter.

The JCS said intelligence authorities in Seoul and Washington began a close analysis of the launches as the allies keep tabs on Pyongyang's various activities under a steadfast combined defense posture.