North Korea carried out a coordinated, multi-tier weapons test Tuesday — firing more than 200 artillery rounds near the disputed Northern Limit Line (NLL) maritime border while leader Kim Jong-un personally supervised separate tests of AI-guided cruise missiles and tactical ballistic missiles, according to state media and South Korean military statements.

South Korea responded with live-fire counter-drills, evacuating residents of two remote western islands — Yeonpyeong and Baengnyeong — to bomb shelters. No casualties were reported on the southern side of the border.

“This is an act of provocation that escalates tension and threatens peace on the Korean peninsula,” South Korea’s Defence Minister Shin Won-sik said during the drills.

Pyongyang’s artillery fire landed north of the NLL — a disputed boundary drawn at the end of the Korean War in 1953 that Pyongyang only began contesting in the 1970s. The waters near the line have been the site of repeated deadly clashes, including the sinking of a South Korean navy corvette in 2010.

AI-Guided Missiles Added to Frontline Arsenal

State news agency KCNA reported Tuesday that Kim attended a comprehensive live-fire drill featuring an array of newly upgraded weapons: tactical ballistic missiles fitted with a “special mission warhead,” long-range multiple-launch artillery rockets, and artificial intelligence-guided precision cruise missiles described as capable of striking targets up to 100 kilometres away.

The low-flying cruise projectiles are equipped with AI-guided navigation systems, and Kim said their operational reliability had been confirmed for immediate deployment to frontline artillery units facing South Korea, KCNA said. North Korea has repeatedly vowed to forward-deploy the modernised systems along its border.

The weapons trials are the latest sign of a accelerating qualitative and quantitative arms build-up on the peninsula. In January, Kim oversaw hypersonic missile test-flights; in March, he declared Pyongyang’s nuclear-armed status “irreversible.” A nuclear-powered submarine programme is reportedly under development.

Seoul Evacuates Islands, Conducts Counter-Drills

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said radar detected simultaneous launches of multiple projectiles from North Korean territory Tuesday, including at least one tactical ballistic missile, before the artillery barrage began. Marine brigades based on Yeonpyeong and Baengnyeong islands then fired towards the sea south of the NLL in what the Defence Ministry called “overwhelming operational response.”

Yeonpyeong — home to more than 2,000 residents and stationed troops — lies roughly 120 kilometres west of Seoul and is accessible only by ferry. Residents were directed to bomb shelters before returning later Tuesday.

Professor Leif-Eric Easley of Ewha University in Seoul noted that North Korean artillery drills near the NLL are not unusual in winter months. “What is different this year is that Kim Jong-un has publicly disavowed reconciliation and unification with the South,” he said. At a key party meeting last week, Kim declared unification impossible and said Pyongyang was fundamentally reclassifying the South as an enemy state.

China Urges Restraint

China, North Korea’s main political ally, called on both sides to exercise restraint and resume dialogue. Washington said it was closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with Seoul. Analysts warn the combination of North Korea’s increasingly sophisticated weapons tests and its hostile political posture toward the South has raised the risk of miscalculation near the border.

Filed: May 27, 2026, 05:30 UTC | Seoul, South Korea

This is a developing story. Updates will be posted as information becomes available. Sources: KCNA, Reuters, South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, SBS Australia, Israel National News.