North and South Korea exchanged artillery fire yesterday after the North shelled an island near their disputed sea border, killing at least two South Korean marines, setting dozens of buildings ablaze and sending civilians fleeing for shelter.
The shelling drew swift condemnation around the world, while South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said late last night that the South would unleash “enormous retaliation” should the North attack again.
The skirmish began when Pyongyang warned the South to halt military drills in the area, according to South Korean officials.
Photo: AFP
When Seoul refused, the North bombarded the small South Korean-held island of Yeonpyeong, which houses military installations and a small civilian population.
South Korea returned fire and dispatched fighter jets in response. The supreme military command in Pyongyang threatened more strikes if the South crossed their maritime border by “even 0.001 millimeter,” according to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.
Government officials in Seoul called the bombardments “inhumane atrocities” that violated the 1953 armistice halting the Korean War.
Columns of thick black smoke could be seen rising from homes on the island in footage aired by YTN cable television. Screams and shouts filled the air as shells rained down on the island for about an hour.
“I thought I would die,” Lee Chun-ok, 54, said after being evacuated to the port of Incheon. “I was really, really terrified and I’m still terrified.”
She said she was watching TV when the shelling began and a wall and door in her home suddenly collapsed.
North Korea fired dozens of rounds of artillery in three separate barrages that began in the mid-afternoon, while South Korea returned fire with about 80 rounds, the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. The entire exchange lasted about an hour.
Two South Korean marines were killed and 16 injured, the JCS said. The skirmish occurred a day after South Korea began drills in the area, exercises the North demanded an end to early yesterday, the JCS said.
Marines participating in the drill had been shooting artillery during those drills, but toward southern waters, away from North Korea, a military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The US vowed to defend the South in a powerfully worded statement and urged Pyongyang to “fully abide by the terms of the Armistice Agreement.”
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs called on the North to “halt its belligerent action,” and said the US is “firmly committed” to South Korea’s defense and to the “maintenance of regional peace and stability.”
REACTION IN TAIWAN
Taiwan’s government “strongly condemned” the various indications that North Korea fired shells into South Korea’s waters, saying the incident was “obviously provoking acts,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Yang (楊進添) said last night.
Concerned about peace and stability in the region, the government called on the North to stop such provocative behavior, he said, adding that the government had expressed condolence and concern about the South Koreans killed and injured in the shelling.
Yang made the remarks at a 8:50pm press conference, after President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) chaired a small national security meeting at the Presidential Office.
Earlier in the day, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman James Chang (章計平) said the representative office in South Korea had activated its emergency response mechanism, making contacts with Taiwanese in the country.
There were about 21,000 Taiwanese in South Korea, Chang said, adding that there were no plans for an evacuation.
Russia, Japan, the EU and NATO condemned Pyongyang’s actions, while China appealed to both sides to remain calm.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SHIH HSIU-CHUAN AND KO SHU-LING
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2