North Korea has fired artillery into the Yellow Sea from its coastal artillery batteries.

A South Korean government official says that the North Korean military fired some 100 rounds of shells from its southwestern coast toward the inter-Korean maritime border, also known as the Northern Limit Line (NLL).

The official said that the shells were fired from coastal areas near South Korea's Yeonpyeong Island and Baengnyeong Island on Monday afternoon.

The official said, however, the North Korean artillery shells did not land in South Korean territorial waters south of the NLL, nor did they cause any damage to the South Korean military.

Ten rounds were fired for about three minutes from 5:30 pm toward Baengnyeong Island with an additional 100 rounds fired between 5:52 pm and 6:14 pm toward the waters near Yeonpyeong Island.

The South Korean Defense Ministry alerted its naval forces after the North Korean artillery fire, keeping a close watch on the situation.

The artillery fire came after South Korea ended a massive five-day naval exercise in the Yellow Sea which was a response to the sinking of South Korea's Cheonan patrol boat. Seoul says the Navy ship was sunk by a North Korena torpedo, but the North is denying any responsibility.