North Korea Ramps Up Military Aggression Amid Tensions with South Korea

Pyongyang's live-fire artillery exercises and threats of violence seen as potential influence on upcoming South Korean elections.

North Korea has conducted three days of live-fire artillery exercises near two South Korean islands, firing over 200 artillery rounds into the sea.
South Korea responded with artillery rounds into the sea and has warned of an overwhelming response if North Korea does not halt the firings.
Analysts predict that North Korea could use military threats and aggression to influence the outcome of the upcoming South Korean legislative elections in April 2024.
North Korea has a conscript army of nearly 1.3 million men and women, along with an estimated 560,000 reservists, and has invested heavily in nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.
North Korea's sister of the leader, Kim Yo Jong, claimed that the artillery sounds were simulated using explosive powder to test South Korea's detection abilities.