SEOUL – North Korea fired more than 200 artillery rounds into the sea on Friday near a tensely defended maritime border with South Korea, a military official said, while residents of two South Korean islands were ordered to evacuate due to to an unknown “situation.”
The Defense Ministry did not confirm whether the order was prompted by the North’s artillery fire or South Korea’s exercises in response.
However, a text message sent to residents and confirmed by an island official cited a “naval fire” to be carried out by South Korean troops starting at 3:00 p.m. (06:00 GMT) on Friday.
An official on Yeonpyeong Island, which lies just south of the disputed Northern Limit Line (NLL) maritime border, said the evacuation was ordered at the request of the South Korean military.
North Korea’s firing did not cause civilian or military damage in the South, South Korea’s military said at a news conference.
People watch a television screen showing newsreel footage of North Korean artillery fire, at a train station in Seoul on Jan. 5, 2024. AFP via Getty Images South Korean residents take shelter on Yeonpyeong Island, near the disputed waters of the Yellow River. Sea after North Korea fired an artillery barrage on January 5, 2024. Ongjin County Office /YONHAP/AFP via Getty Images
“This is a provocative act that increases tension and threatens peace on the Korean Peninsula,” a spokesman for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
The South Korean military told the village that the South Korean military was firing into the sea after “a situation” near the border, the official said.
But it was not clear whether it was a drill or had some other cause.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspects a major military vehicle production plant with his daughter Ju Ae at an undisclosed location in North Korea on January 5, 2024. KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Images
Residents of Baengnyeong Island, which lies far west of Yeonpyeong and also near the sea border, were also ordered to evacuate, a village official said.
In 2010, North Korean artillery fired dozens of bullets into Yeonpyeong island, killing four people, including two civilians, in one of the most intense attacks on its neighbor since the Korean War ended in 1953.
North Korea said at the time that it was sparked by South Korean live-fire exercises that dropped projectiles into its territorial waters.
Categories: Trending
Source: vtt.edu.vn