Reports emerged on Friday that South Korea issued evacuation orders to the residents of Yeonpyeong Island, located near the border with North Korea, following North Korea’s launch of 200 artillery shells into the waters nearby, according to local news outlets.
An official communicated to Yonhap News, “We announced the evacuation after receiving a call from a military unit saying it was carrying out a maritime strike on Yeongpyeong Island as it has a situation with a North Korean provocation.” The evacuation notices were dispatched at 12:02 p.m. and again at 12:30 p.m. local time on the same day.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff disclosed to NBC News that “The North Korean military fired more than 200 rounds from around 9:00 to 11:00 today in the area of Cape Jangsan, north of Baengnyeong Island, and Cape Sansan, north of Yeonpyeong Island.” Fortunately, there have been no reports of injuries resulting from this incident.
Following the North’s artillery firing, the South Korean marine corps advised Yeonpyeong’s civilians to seek shelter and planned a “maritime shooting exercise” for later in the day, as per a report by Chosun Ilbo, which quoted an official from Yeonpyeong’s township office.
The same official noted that the majority of residents had heeded the evacuation call, though the duration of the evacuation drill remained undecided.
Chosun Ilbo further reported that the Marine Corps’ maritime shooting drill was conducted in response to the North Korean action.
Yeonpyeong Island lies near the Northern Limit Line (NLL), a contested maritime demarcation between North and South Korea. According to Reuters, none of the shells launched by North Korea on this occasion crossed the NLL.
This event recalls the serious escalation of November 2010 when North Korean artillery targeted Yeonpyeong Island, resulting in the deaths of two South Korean marines and two civilians, in addition to wounding at least 18 individuals and causing extensive property damage.
Ban Ki-moon, the then United Nations secretary-general, described the 2010 shelling as one of the most severe confrontations since the cessation of the Korean War.
The Korean Peninsula remains technically in a state of war since the Korean War concluded in 1953 with an armistice agreement rather than a peace treaty.
Read More: