A South Korean air raid warning was issued for the island of Ulleungdo that also appeared on national television and told residents to “evacuate to the nearest underground shelter” after North Korea fired 17 missiles into the sea on Wednesday. South Korea also closed some air routes over the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, advising local airlines to detour to “ensure passenger safety in the routes to the United States and Japan”.
One short range ballistic missile crossed the Northern Limit Line, the de facto maritime border between the two countries, prompting a rare warning for residents on the island of Ulleungdo to seek shelter in bunkers. The missile that was closest to South Korea landed in waters just 57 kilometers (35 miles) east of the South Korean mainland reportedly.
The South Korea military stated it was the “first time since the peninsula was divided” (in 1953) that a North Korean missile had landed so close to the South’s territorial waters.
