North Korea on Friday fired over 200 artillery rounds into the sea near a tense maritime border with South Korea, forcing the latter to order evacuation near the island, a military official said quoted Reuters. The residents of two South Korean islands have been directed to seek shelter due to an unspecified “situation.”
According to Reuters, a text message that was sent to residents and confirmed by an island official cited “naval fire” to be conducted by South Korean troops from 3 p.m.(0600 GMT) Friday.
The defence ministry has not confirmed if the order was prompted by the North’s artillery firing or South Korean drills in response.
Meanwhile, an official on Yeonpyeong Island said the evacuation was ordered for residents to move into shelters on the island at the request of the South Korean military.
In a news briefing, Reuters reported, that South Korea’s military said the firing by North Korea caused no civilian or military damage in the South.
“This is an act of provocation that escalates tension and threatens peace on the Korean peninsula,” a spokesman for the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said, quoted Reuters.
The shells have all landed on the northern side of a disputed maritime border, spokesman Lee Sung-joon said, quoted Reuters. He further added that the South Korean military has been monitoring the North’s moves along its shores with the cooperation of the US military. He warned that South Korea will take “corresponding measures” in response to the North’s actions.
Yeonpyeong is an Island home to nearly over 2,000 residents and troops stationed there. As per Reuters, it is located about 120 km (75 miles) west of Seoul and is accessed by ferries taking over two-and-a-half hours.
The waters near the disputed NLL have been a site of contention leading to several deadly clashes between North and South Korea including confrontations involving warships and the sinking of a South Korean navy corvette early in 2010 by, as is believed, a North Korean torpedo.