The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Thursday strongly denounced South Korean shelling near its border, saying the Korean People's Army (KPA) was fully prepared to strike back, the official news agency KCNA reported.

The Command of the Southwestern Front of the KPA issued a statement, saying the "warmongers" of the South Korean military fired shells toward the waters of the DPRK from the waters around Yonphyong Island "without any prior notice."

The statement described the incident as a "reckless provocation", which was evidenced by the South's "intrusion into its territorial waters."

It said the South Korean army constantly fired shells toward Paekryong, Yonphyong, Taechong and other islands and escalated tensions in the hotspot by intercepting DPRK fishing boats.

To cope with the prevailing situation, all strike groups of the KPA in the southwestern sector of the front were well prepared for devastating strikes, according to the statement.

All the service personnel of the army stood ready to fight back and punish the provocateurs, it said.

"What they are waiting for is only the order to be given by the Supreme Command," the report said.

South Korean media reported on the same day the DPRK fired three short-range projectiles into its eastern waters.

The three projectiles were launched at around 5 p.m. from the Wonsan area in the DPRK's southeastern coast, where Pyongyang fired FROG surface-to-surface missiles in March.

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