Overview

• 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.