North Korea fires 60 rounds of artillery near South Korean border island

north korea fires 60 rounds of artillery near south korean border island

People at a railway station in Seoul watch a news broadcast with footage of one of North Korea’s artillery firings

North Korea’s military fired over 60 artillery rounds near Yeonpyeong Island on Saturday, Seoul’s military said, a day after both sides staged live-fire drills in the same area near their contested maritime border.

“North Korean forces conducted artillery fire with over 60 rounds” northwest of Yeonpyeong Island on Saturday afternoon, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

On Friday, North Korea fired more than 200 rounds of artillery shells near Yeonpyeong and Baengnyeong, two sparsely populated islands situated just south of a defacto maritime border between the two sides.

Residents of the two islands were ordered to evacuate to shelters and ferries were suspended during one of the most serious military escalations on the peninsula since Pyongyang fired shells at one of the islands in 2010.

Both Friday and Saturday, North Korea’s shells landed in a buffer zone created under a 2018 tension-reducing deal, which fell apart in November after the North launched a spy satellite.

Seoul’s military said Saturday that “the repeated artillery fire within the prohibited hostile act zone by North Korea poses a threat to the peace on the Korean Peninsula and escalates tensions”.

“North Korea, following its claim of the complete nullification of the ‘September 19 Military Agreement’, continues to threaten our citizens with ongoing artillery fire within the prohibited hostile act zone,” the JCS said, referring to the 2018 deal.

“In response, our military will take appropriate measures,” it said.

– ‘No effect’ –

North Korea said Friday that its live-fire drills had not even had “an indirect effect” on the border islands.

Yeonpyeong, which has around 2,000 residents, is about 115 kilometres (70 miles) west of Seoul. Baengnyeong, with a population of 4,900, is about 210 kilometres west of Seoul.

In November, Seoul partially suspended the 2018 military accord to protest Pyongyang’s putting a spy satellite into orbit. North Korea then scrapped the deal completely.

“It feels as if going back to the era of the Cold War, where the other side’s actions are deemed violations and provocations, while one’s own actions are seen as defensive and justified responses,” Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told AFP.

He urged Seoul to explore the possibility of working with China — North Korea’s major ally, which has urged restraint from both sides — to reduce tensions on the peninsula.

“The downside of the tit-for-tat strategy is the inability to take a moderate approach first, even when anticipating significant losses, due to pride,” he said.

“It is crucial for the leaders of North and South Korea to always remember that when verbal bombshells turn into actions, it will not only mean the end of their regimes but also the demise of our nation.”

– 2010 incident –

In 2010, in response to a South Korean live-fire drill near the sea border, North Korea bombarded Yeonpyeong Island, killing four South Koreans — two soldiers and two civilians.

That was the first attack on a civilian area since the 1950-53 Korean War.

South Korea returned fire in an exchange that lasted more than an hour, as the two sides traded more than 200 shells, sparking brief fears of a full-fledged war.

Relations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points in decades, after the North’s leader Kim Jong Un enshrined the country’s status as a nuclear power into the constitution while test-firing several advanced inter-continental ballistic missiles.

At year-end policy meetings, Kim warned of a nuclear attack on the South and called for a build-up of the country’s military arsenal, warning that conflict could “break out any time”.

On Friday, KCNA said Kim called for the ramping-up of missile launcher production “given the prevailing grave situation that requires the country to be more firmly prepared for a military showdown with the enemy”.

His comments came after the White House accused North Korea of providing Russia with ballistic missiles and missile launchers that were used in recent attacks on Ukraine. Washington has called this an escalation of Pyongyang’s support for Moscow.

The two Koreas remain technically at war because the 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice, not a treaty, and most of the border between them is heavily fortified, with their contested maritime border never officially delineated.

cdl/ceb/dva

OTHER NEWS

30 minutes ago

England fans at Euro 2024 are a ‘trophy’ for hooligans from other nations

30 minutes ago

Fauci wrote in upcoming memoir that Trump yelled expletives at him in a phone call in 2020

31 minutes ago

La Trobe Financial CEO discusses bringing global 'investment strategies' to Australians

31 minutes ago

Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester: Seen really progress on inflation, but we're not there yet

31 minutes ago

Portugal All-Time XI: Cristiano Ronaldo leads legendary attack

34 minutes ago

Actor Joe Alwyn breaks silence on Taylor Swift split for the first time

36 minutes ago

'All the money in the game yet...': Sunil Gavaskar, Michael Vaughan slam ICC after back-to-back abandoned games in Florida

36 minutes ago

Peter went public about his homeless situation in a desperate plea for help. His council responded, but not in the caring way you would think

36 minutes ago

Richard Wilkins uses a Woolworths basket to carry his groceries into his home after a shopping trip with his girlfriend Mia Hawkswell

40 minutes ago

Palliative care nurses share precious lessons learnt after decades working with the dying

42 minutes ago

Johannesburg woman unveils homemade juice recipe for glowing skin in video

42 minutes ago

UAE President inquires about wellbeing of UAE pilgrims in phone call with Head of Pilgrims' Affairs Office

45 minutes ago

Kipyegon targets double gold in Paris

45 minutes ago

Man Utd’s 2022 FA Youth Cup winners now – transfers, FA Cup glory, goal machine released

52 minutes ago

Australian underdog Liam Paro stuns boxing world to claim world title in slugfest - and dedicates win to his best friend who died

52 minutes ago

Married At First Sight's Mel Schilling shares emotional story of how she told nine-year-old daughter Maddie about her cancer diagnosis

52 minutes ago

Wooden boat with nine Chinese people on board is intercepted by Australian Border Force and turned back

53 minutes ago

Tedesco backs Edwards for Origin spot

53 minutes ago

Five per cent of households refuse to have smart meters in their homes

59 minutes ago

Doctor submitted 116 false Chas claims, duping MOH into disbursing $7,600

59 minutes ago

Israeli army announces ‘tactical pause’ in part of southern Gaza

59 minutes ago

Americans 'concerned' with 'both' US presidential candidates

59 minutes ago

Central Coast surfer Josh Roden saves former Liberal deputy leader Bruce Baird from ocean rip at Spoon Bay

59 minutes ago

Five Next-Level Questions to Ask a Prospective Financial Planner

59 minutes ago

Salt Lake City’s New Airport Is Art-Filled, Multi-Sensorial, and Designed for the Future

59 minutes ago

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Opens This Month at Disney World — and We Were Among the First to Ride

59 minutes ago

Aussie boxer Paro stuns rival to claim world title

59 minutes ago

Don’t knock it – walking backwards is an exhilarating workout

59 minutes ago

Clooney and Roberts help Biden raise $28 million at a fundraiser featuring dire warnings about Trump

59 minutes ago

Hundreds of Scottish churches put on the market in ‘painful’ fire sale

59 minutes ago

Boxing bout between former UFC stars Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva ends in draw

59 minutes ago

Bill Maher snaps at Charlamagne Tha God after radio host drops controversial race comment

59 minutes ago

Americans sick of the 'cultural revolution' under Joe Biden are setting up incredible off-grid city in the DESERT hundreds of miles away from civilization with their own government and courts... and offer chilling prediction for the future of the country

59 minutes ago

Oscar Blaxland was dubbed the 'Miracle Boy' after falling out of a six-storey window onto concrete when he was just three. Almost 30 years later… this is what became of him

1 hour ago

Search continues for former Los Angeles deputy missing in Greece

1 hour ago

Biden says the next president may get to name two Supreme Court justices

1 hour ago

What To Expect From India-France Ties & Will G7 Change India's Approach Towards Foreign Policy?

1 hour ago

'I've been on a mission to find the best size-inclusive jeans. Here are the best ones I've found.'

1 hour ago

Author Nathan Hill talks 'Wellness', polyamory and parenting

1 hour ago

Erik Ten Hag makes new demand to Man Utd bosses after stay of execution