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Published January 5, 2024, 12:23 AM ET
SEOUL – North Korea fired more than 200 artillery shells into the sea on Friday near a heavily defended maritime border with South Korea, a military official said, while residents of two South Korean islands were ordered to evacuate due to an unknown “situation.”
The Defense Ministry would not confirm whether the order was triggered by the North's artillery fire or South Korean exercises in response.
However, a text message sent to residents and confirmed by an island official indicated that South Korean troops would engage in “naval fire” from 3 p.m. (0600 GMT) on Friday.
An official on Yeonpyeong island, which lies south of the disputed Northern Limit Line (NLL) maritime border, said the evacuation was ordered at the request of the South Korean military.
North Korea's shots caused no civilian or military damage in the South, the South Korean military said in a press conference.
“This is an act of provocation that escalates tensions and endangers peace on the Korean Peninsula,” a spokesman for the South Korean General Staff said.
North Korea fired more than 200 artillery shells into the sea on Friday near a heavily defended maritime border with South Korea. via Portal
The South Korean military told the village that the South Korean military had fired at sea following “a situation” near the border, the official said. However, it was unclear whether it was an exercise or had another cause.
Residents of Baengnyeong Island, far west of Yeonpyeong and also close to the sea border, were also ordered to evacuate, a village official there said.
In 2010, North Korean artillery fired numerous shots at Yeonpyeong Island, killing four people, including two civilians, in one of the worst attacks on the neighboring island since the end of the Korean War in 1953.
North Korea said at the time that it was provoked into the attack by South Korean live-fire exercises that dropped grenades into its territorial waters.
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