N. Korea fires artillery on South
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Smoke billows from Yeonpyeong island near the border against North Korea, in South Korea, Tuesday. North Korea shot dozens of rounds of artillery onto the populated S Korean island near their disputed western border Tuesday, military officials said.
AP Smoke billows from Yeonpyeong island near the border against North Korea, in South Korea, Tuesday. North Korea shot dozens of rounds of artillery onto the populated S Korean island near their disputed western border Tuesday, military officials said.
North Korea shot dozens of rounds of artillery onto a populated South Korean island near their disputed western border Tuesday, prompting South Korea to return fire and scramble fighter jets, military officials said. At least one South Korean marine reportedly was killed.
The skirmish came amid high tension over North Korea’s claim that it has a new uranium enrichment facility and just over a month after North Korean leader Kim Jong Il unveiled his youngest son Kim Jong Un as his heir apparent.
South Korea’s YTN television said one South Korean marine was killed and that two people were injured. The report said several houses were on fire and shells were still falling on Yeonpyeong island, which is about 100 km west of the coast. The station broadcast pictures of thick columns of black smoke rising from the island.
Yonhap news agency, quoting a military official, said four soldiers were wounded.
President Lee Myung-bak ordered officials to make sure that the firing wouldn’t escalate, according to Yonhap, quoting a presidential official. YTN said between 1,200 and 1,300 people live on the island, citing an island resident.
A South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff official said dozens of rounds of artillery landed on the island and in the sea. The official says South Korea fired back. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of JCS rules, said South Korea’s military is on alert. He had no other details, and could not confirm the reports of casualties.
Tensions between the two Koreas have remained high since the sinking in March of a South Korean warship in which 46 sailors died. Seoul blamed a North Korean torpedo, while Pyongyang has denied any responsibility.
Keywords: Korean conflict, disputed borders
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/11/23/nkorea.skorea.military.fire/?hpt=T1
Report: N. Korea fires on S. Korea, killing 1 and injuring 15
By the CNN Wire Staff
November 23, 2010 -- Updated 0919 GMT (1719 HKT)
Click to play
South Korea holds emergency talks
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* Ministers meet in a bunker under the presidential residence
* One South Korean soldier is killed, the Yonhap news agency says
* The South Korean Defense Ministry hasn't confirmed casualties
* The South's president urges calm
Seoul, South Korea (CNN) -- North Korea fired artillery toward its tense western sea border with South Korea on Tuesday, killing at least one South Korean soldier, the Yonhap news agency reported.
Two civilians and 13 other South Korean military personnel were injured, with three of the soldiers seriously hurt, Yonhap said.
However, a spokesman said the Ministry of Defense had not confirmed any deaths and that the military was checking on possible civilian casualties.
At least 200 rounds of artillery hit an inhabited South Korean island in the Yellow Sea after the North started firing about 2:30 p.m. local time, Yonhap said.
South Korea's military responded with 80 rounds of artillery and deployed fighter jets to counter the fire, the report said.
Sharp tensions on the Korean Peninsula
Report: N. Korea fires on S. Korea
RELATED TOPICS
* North Korea
* South Korea
The South Korean army also raised its alert condition, the report said.
Images of plumes of smoke were quickly broadcast on Yonhap television from the island of Yeonpyeong, with some homes on fire. It was not immediately clear how much damage the artillery had done. The island has a large military garrison.
The island has a total of about 1,300 residents, a fisherman who lives on the island told Yonhap.
Some residents started fleeing for the South Korean mainland, which is about 145 kilometers [90 miles] away. Other residents were seeking shelter at schools.
The South Korean government immediately called an emergency meeting of its security ministers, meeting in a bunker under the presidential residence in Seoul.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak ordered his ministers to take measures against an escalation of the situation, presidential spokeswoman Kim Hee-jung said, according to Yonhap.
"Take a stern response and carefully manage the situation from further escalating," the president said.
The North Korean fire came as the South's military conducted routine drills in waters off the island, which is about 10 kilometers [6 miles] from the North.
The Yellow Sea has been a longstanding flashpoint between the two Koreas, but Tuesday's attack was an escalation in violence.
"Our navy was conducting a maritime exercise near the western sea border today. North Korea has sent a letter of protest over the drill. We're examining a possible link between the protest and the artillery attack," presidential spokeswoman Kim said, according to Yonhap.
The island is part of a small archipelago about 80 kilometers [49 miles] west of the South Korean port of Inchon, which serves Seoul, and is close to the tense Northern Limit Line, the maritime border between the two Koreas in the Yellow Sea.
A South Korean warship, the Cheonan was sunk in the area in March with the loss of 46 lives in a suspected North Korean torpedo attack.
North Korean artillery is extremely difficult to hit, because it is dug into coastal cliffs. Though the North has tested its artillery -- and tested anti-shipping missiles -- it has not fired artillery into South Korean territory in recent years.
One of North Korea's most potent threats is the hundreds of artillery barrels dug in along its demilitarized zone with South Korea and ranged on Seoul.
Yonhap television was covering the attack nonstop in South Korea, forgoing other news Tuesday. Meanwhile, state television in North Korea did not mention the attack.
