Background: South Korea Says Nutty North Seizes Fishing BoatNutty North Korea remains silent on the fate of a South Korean fishing boat and its crew members.
The boat with four South Korean and three Chinese crewmen was detained on last Sunday.
The South Korean government has urged Pyongyang to release them as soon as possible.
And it looks like tension will continue to remain high on the Korean peninsula as South Korea and the US are planning to hold military exercises next month.
Verbal threats from North Korea were an almost daily occurrence in the last few weeks.It Is Pyongyang's way of showing unhappiness with South Korea for conducting military exercises on its own and also jointly with the US.
Background: North Korea vows 'physical response' to US exercise
And like before, many thought they would simply be that - threats - but no action.
But this time - the North Koreans proved them wrong.
Pyongyang seized a South Korean fishing boat off the peninsula's east coast - with four South Korean and three Chinese crewmen on board.
The communist state remains silent despite messages from the South calling for their quick release.
Instead, it fired more than 100 rounds of artillery shells from a base on its southwest coast near the inter-Korean sea border.
Most of the shells landed on the North Korean side and a few also fell on the southern side.
Background: Nutty North Korea fires artillery near inter-Korean maritime border
Baek Seung Joo, a researcher at Korea Institute for Defence Analysis said: "The reason North Korea fired the shells is because it wanted to test our military and see how we'll react. The fact that North Korea didn't attack our military vessels and fishing boats in that area shows that North Korea's military is also very worried about the consequences."
Experts said the tense situation on the Korean peninsula could drag on.
"With tension high now and North Korea even firing artillery rounds, it's possible this incident will become a long-term issue, and it could make things difficult for inter-Korean ties," Kim Yong Hyun, professor of North Korean Studies at Dongguk University.
This is especially so since South Korea and the US are planning more military exercises in September in the Yellow Sea.
The aircraft carrier USS George Washington is expected to take part in the drills despite opposition from North Korea and China.
The US and South Korea jointly held massive military exercises last month in a show of force after North Korea sunk a South Korean military vessel in March which killed 46 sailors.
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