2024-01-06 13:04:34
North Korea fired more than 60 shells near the remote South Korean island of Yeonpyeong on Saturday, the South Korean army announced, the day after a first salvo from Pyongyang which triggered Seoul’s response with live ammunition exercises in the region.
Military escalation between the two Koreas: more than 200 shells fired, military exercises… Update on the situation
North Korea fired more than 200 shells into the Yellow Sea near the South Korean islands of Yeonpyeong and Baengnyeong on Friday.
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North Korea said its shelling near the two islands constituted “a natural response and countermeasure” to military exercises carried out by Seoul, according to the official KCNA agency.
The biggest escalation since 2010
The island of Yeonpyeong, which has around 2,000 inhabitants, is located 115 km west of Seoul and around ten kilometers south of the North Korean coast.
Also very close to North Korea, Baengnyeong, 4,900 inhabitants, is 210 km from the South Korean capital.
Residents of both islands had been ordered to shelters, according to local officials. Ferry services connecting the islands to the rest of South Korea have been suspended.
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It was the sharpest escalation on the peninsula since the North Korean military bombed Yeonpyeong in 2010 in response to a South Korean live ammunition drill near the border.
This first North Korean attack against civilians since the Korean War (1950-1953) left four dead, two soldiers and two civilians.
“Severe warning”
On both Saturday and Friday, North Korean shells landed in a buffer zone created in 2018 as part of an agreement between the two neighbors aimed at preventing border military incidents.
But Seoul partially suspended the deal last November to protest Pyongyang’s launch of a spy satellite, and the North rejected the entire deal soon after.
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The South Korean military said Saturday that North Korean artillery fire in the area “pose a threat to peace on the Korean Peninsula”.
She issued “a severe warning” and called on North Korea to stop immediately, assuring that“in response, our army will take appropriate measures to safeguard the country”.
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