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By Lee tae-hoon
South Korea returned fire Wednesday after North Korean artillery shells fell into waters near the tense maritime border that separates the two Koreas, a defense official said.
Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said the Navy fired three shells of its own as it heard the sound of three shells and saw one falling near the maritime border in the West Sea.
He said a preliminary analysis of the trajectory of the shells suggests one North Korean artillery shell is believed to have fallen south of the Northern Limit Line (NLL).
"Of the three, one North Korean shell appears to have landed near the Northern Limit Line (NLL)," he said. "We have yet to detect any particular movements in the North Korean military but we're maintaining a defense posture."
Kim said the South's Navy fired three warning shots shortly after hearing North Korea fire three artillery shots at around 1 p.m.
Tensions remain high near the NLL, the de facto sea border, as it has been the scene of several bloody conflicts in recent years.
The North does not respect the NLL, arguing that the line should run farther south.
The communist regime claims that it was drawn unilaterally by the U.S.-led United Nations Command at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War and that it should be redrawn further south.
North Korea carried out a surprise artillery bombardment on Yeonpyeong Island in November last year, killing two South Korean Marines and two civilians.
Seoul has bolstered its military presence and has deployed new weapons on five islands near the NLL in the wake of the deadly artillery attack.
The two Koreas remains technically at war after the Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.
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