The South Korean military said it has detected North Korea additionally firing possibly hundreds of artillery rounds into maritime buffer zones between the two countries, further raising animosities triggered by a recent barrage of weapons tests.

South Korean military chiefs said they had detected the North firing approximately 80 rounds of artillery into waters near the eastern sea border from around 5pm on Friday.

They also said they detected firing sounds and sighted splashes that were possibly caused by the firing of around 200 shells into waters near the western sea boundary from around 5.20pm local time (9.20am BST).

The military added that the shells fell inside maritime buffer zones the two Koreas established under a 2018 inter-Korean agreement aimed at reducing tensions.

The artillery barrage came hours after North Korea fired a ballistic missile and 170 rounds of shells, extending a highly provocative run of weapons demonstrations accompanied by threats of nuclear conflict against Seoul and Washington.