South Korea evacuates Yeonpyeong Island: North Korea fires about 200 shells

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South Korea has urged residents of Yeonpyeong Island to seek safety after North Korea fired about 200 shells off its west coast. “About 200 shots were fired by North Korea (at) Yeonpyeong Island,” a South Korean Defense Ministry official said at a news conference.

The missiles fell in the Yellow Sea north of the maritime boundary line, the general staff in South Korea said on Friday. The grenades caused no damage.

Representatives of the island, which is only about six miles from North Korea, told AFP news agency that residents had been asked to seek safety. It is a “preventive measure”. The island off the west coast was the target of a North Korean artillery attack in 2010. Four people died then.

Kim Jong-un plans ‘test of strength’

Tensions are currently rising again on the Korean Peninsula. According to Yonhap, the armed forces of South Korea and the United States also began an artillery exercise near the border with North Korea on Thursday.

North Korean state media previously reported that leader Kim Jong Un (39) had called for an expansion of rocket launcher production during a factory visit – in preparation for a “military confrontation” with South Korea and the US.

Shortly before that, the US government announced that North Korea had recently delivered ballistic missiles and rocket launchers to Russia, some of which were used in the recent attacks on Ukraine. (AFP/SDA)

Source: Blick