ANKARA

South Korean artillery units held live-fire drills near the inter-Korean border, striking targets inside a US firing range for the first time in seven years, Yonhap News Agency reported Tuesday, citing a statement from the army.

The drills took place Monday around the Imjin River in Paju, about 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) northwest of Seoul, it said.

The military mobilized 12 K9A1 self-propelled howitzers and six K55A1s that fired around 60 shells at targets in the Story Live Fire Complex.

It marked the first time that South Korean forces held such drills at the firing range since the country fully suspended a 2018 inter-Korean tension reduction pact last June over North Korea's mass launches of balloons carrying trash across the border.

Under the deal, the two sides were barred from holding artillery drills or large-scale military exercises near the border.

Last month, the US and South Korea signed a memorandum of understanding to resume the use of the training range.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid