North Korea Fires Artillery Rockets at South Korean Island Killing 2
North Korea fired on Tuesday morning artillery rockets on the Yeonpyeong island belonging to South Korea near a disputed maritime border, setting houses on fire and determining the South to respond by dispatching fighter jets in the area.
According to reports of people living there more than 50 rounds of artillery were fired from the south of North Korean city of Haeju at 2:34 p.m. local time.
Power was cut and the people were moved to bomb shelters.
One South Korean marine was killed in the fight and at least a dozen were injured. According to latest reports it would seem that the death toll raised to 2 as a second soldier died in the meantime.
A spokesman for South Korean Joint Chief of Staff confirmed that “a score of rounds” was fired on the island by the North, and the videos sent by people living nearby show smoke all over the island.
“The whole village is on fire,” a woman living on the island said for the Wall Street Journal. She added that many houses are on fire and there is no way to put it out since the “shots are intermittently coming.”
According to the same source a military base was hit, but there was no way of confirming whether there were casualties or not.
The president of South Korea Lee Myung-bak convened an emergency meeting of the agencies that are entrusted with the country’s security.
He also ordered the senior officers to carefully handle the situation so that the situation may not escalate.
A possible reason for this situation could be the military exercise carried out by the South in the region, to which the North has constantly protested.
According to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China is concerned about this conflict and militates for peace and understanding between the two Koreas.
The Japanese PM ordered the government to be prepared for any development in the Korean Peninsula.
About 1,200 people live on Yeonpyeong island which is in close range of the North’s artillery.
In 2007, the leaders of the two countries agreed to turn the area into a “peace zone,” but the agreement was never implemented.
Analysts consider this is the most serious attack since the war between the two Koreas.
