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.
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