MOSCOW, November 2. /TASS/. The situation on the Korean Peninsula is tense and the Kremlin is urging the sides to stay calm to avoid escalation, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday.

"We believe that all parties to this conflict should avoid any steps that could further escalate tensions. The situation is already very tense on the peninsula," the Kremlin spokesman said.

"We call on everyone to remain calm and avoid further escalation of tensions," he added.

Earlier, the South Korean side reported repeated missile launches by the North Korean military, including anti-aircraft missiles. It was noted that North Korea also conducted artillery fire on conditional targets in the buffer zone in the Sea of Japan, firing a total of about 100 shells. One of the North Korean short-range ballistic missiles was aimed at the South Korean island of Ulleungdo and landed near South Korean territorial waters south of the northern border line, which Seoul regarded as the de facto border. An air alert was declared on the island for the first time in nearly six years. In retaliation to the launches, South Korean aircraft fired three surface-to-air missiles into the sea north of the northern border line.