North Korea conducted live fire drills in two areas close to the disputed western maritime border between the South and the North on Tuesday, the Yonhap news agency reported.

The exercise, taking place near the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the Yellow Sea, commenced at 2 p.m. local time, only hours after the South had been given advance notice of the drill.

The South responded by dispatching warships, surveillance aircraft and fighter jets to the area to increase readiness, and advised residents of five northwestern islands to take shelter, the country’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a