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.
“North Korean forces fired more than 60 shells from the northwest area of Yeonpyeong Island today, between approximately 4 p.m. and 5 p.m.,” the South’s military general staff said. Korean, warning Pyongyang against a continuation of these shots.
Two islands close to the northern coasts
North Korea fired more than 200 shells into the Yellow Sea near the South Korean islands of Yeonpyeong and Baengnyeong on Friday. North Korea claimed that its shelling near the two islands constituted “a natural response and a countermeasure” to the military exercises carried out by Seoul, according to the official KCNA agency.
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.
” Buffer “
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.
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.
The South Korean military said Saturday that North Korean artillery fire in the area “poses a threat to peace on the Korean Peninsula.” She issued “a severe warning” and asked North Korea to stop immediately, assuring that “in response, our army will take appropriate measures to safeguard the country.”