(LEAD) South Korea fires warning shots at flying object from North

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with details)

SEOUL, May 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korean troops fired warning shots at an "unidentified object" flying across the heavily fortified border from North Korea Tuesday afternoon, the South's military announced.

The military detected the object traversing the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) southward in the Chorwon area in the eastern province of Gangwon at around 4 p.m., according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

It added the South's military fired warning shots along with dispatching a warning broadcast.

A defense source said the military fired more than 90 K-3 machine gun rounds, adding it may have been a drone.

The South's military is analyzing the object and its route and has beefed up its air defense posture, said the JCS.

The incident added to already-high tensions between the Koreas following the North's continued ballistic missile launches.

In January last year, a North Korean drone flew over the MDL into the western section of the demilitarized zone. The South opened machine gun fire on it.

lcd@yna.co.kr
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