The army of North Korea fired more than 60 shells this Saturday near the South Korean island of Yeonpyeongsaid Seoul’s military, a day after Pyongyang launched a barrage of artillery shells in the same region.
“North Korean forces fired more than 60 shells from the northwest area of the island of Yeonpyeong today, between 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. (07:00 and 08:00 GMT)“, declared the Joint Chiefs of Staff South Korean in a statement, warning North Korea to end its actions.
On Friday, North Korea fired more than 200 artillery shells near Yeonpyeong and Bangnyeongtwo sparsely populated South Korean islands located near a de facto maritime border between the two countries.
The authorities ordered the evacuation of civilians as a “preventive measure” and the ferries were suspended due to this military escalation, one of the most serious recorded on the Korean peninsula since 2010, when the North bombed Yeonpyeong.
On both Friday and Saturday, North Korean projectiles landed in a maritime buffer zone created under a 2018 agreement to de-escalate tensions, which broke down in November after North Korea launched a spy satellite.
The South Korean military stated on Saturday that “The repeated artillery fire (…) poses a threat to peace on the Korean Peninsula and an escalation of tensions”.
The military force launched “a firm warning” and urged Pyongyang to cease their actions.
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“North Korea, after its declaration of an annulment of the ‘Military Agreement of September 19‘, continues to threaten our citizens with continuous artillery fire within the area where hostile acts are prohibited”declared the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“In response, our military will take appropriate measures to safeguard our nation”he added.
Yeonpyeong, which has about 2,000 inhabitants, is located in the yellow seaabout 115 km west of Seoul and 12 km south of the coast of the North Korean province of Hwanghae.
