North Korea is likely to lift its unilateral designation of areas near the Northern Limit Line (NLL) as "shooting zones."

Earlier on Monday, the North said via the Russian marine traffic broadcaster “Navtex” that it was designating the areas near the islands of Baengnyeong and Daecheong near the disputed demarcation line in the Yellow Sea as “firing at sea” zones from Monday to Friday.

Since its declaration, the North fired around 100 artillery shells into waters near the NLL on Wednesday and fired a dozen artillery shells on Thursday toward Yeonpyeong Island, which was not included in the North’s designated shooting area.

The South’s military said it plans to closely monitor the North even if the “shooting at sea” period designated by the North ends. The military noted that the North has declared a no-sail zone in the waters south of the demarcation line in the Yellow Sea until March 29th.