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North Korea fired about 130 artillery shells into the sea from its eastern and western borders today, apparently in a drill, Reuters reported, citing the South Korean military.

The exercise took place near the DPRK's border with South Korea.

Some of the shells fell in the buffer zone near the two countries' maritime border, which Seoul said was a violation of a 2018 inter-Korean agreement to de-escalate tensions.

The South Korean military sent several warning messages to the North regarding the missile launch, South Korea's defense ministry said.

North Korea did not immediately report the artillery fire, but it has recently stepped up its military activities, including missile launches and exercises involving aircraft and artillery. 

South Korea and the US have also increased military exercises this year, arguing they are necessary to deter the nuclear-armed North.

North Korea's missile landed in Japan's exclusive economic zone, Prime Minister Kishida announced

The military agreement to de-escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula, signed in 2018, is the most significant outcome of the meetings held between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and then South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

But those talks have reached an impasse, and recent exercises and demonstrations of military force along the fortified border between the two Koreas cast doubt on the future of the agreed measures.

South Korea accuses the North of violating the agreement with its artillery fire this year.

This year, for the first time since 2017, North Korea resumed testing long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles, and according to South Korea and the United States, it is preparing to resume nuclear tests as well.