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N Korean shells kill two, trigger world
outrage
Agencies, SEOUL and WASHINGTON
A picture taken by a South Korean tourist
shows huge plumes of smoke rising from Yeonpyeong Island yesterday after North
Korea fired dozens of artillery shells onto the island, killing two people.
Photo: AFP
North and South Korea exchanged artillery fire yesterday
after the North shelled an island near their disputed sea border, killing at
least two South Korean marines, setting dozens of buildings ablaze and sending
civilians fleeing for shelter.
The shelling drew swift condemnation around the world, while South Korean
President Lee Myung-bak said late last night that the South would unleash
“enormous retaliation” should the North attack again.
The skirmish began when Pyongyang warned the South to halt military drills in
the area, according to South Korean officials.
When Seoul refused, the North bombarded the small South Korean-held island of
Yeonpyeong, which houses military installations and a small civilian population.
South Korea returned fire and dispatched fighter jets in response. The supreme
military command in Pyongyang threatened more strikes if the South crossed their
maritime border by “even 0.001 millimeter,” according to the North’s official
Korean Central News Agency.
Government officials in Seoul called the bombardments “inhumane atrocities” that
violated the 1953 armistice halting the Korean War.
Columns of thick black smoke could be seen rising from homes on the island in
footage aired by YTN cable television. Screams and shouts filled the air as
shells rained down on the island for about an hour.
“I thought I would die,” Lee Chun-ok, 54, said after being evacuated to the port
of Incheon. “I was really, really terrified and I’m still terrified.”
She said she was watching TV when the shelling began and a wall and door in her
home suddenly collapsed.
North Korea fired dozens of rounds of artillery in three separate barrages that
began in the mid-afternoon, while South Korea returned fire with about 80
rounds, the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. The entire exchange lasted
about an hour.
Two South Korean marines were killed and 16 injured, the JCS said. The skirmish
occurred a day after South Korea began drills in the area, exercises the North
demanded an end to early yesterday, the JCS said.
Marines participating in the drill had been shooting artillery during those
drills, but toward southern waters, away from North Korea, a military official
said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The US vowed to defend the South in a powerfully worded statement and urged
Pyongyang to “fully abide by the terms of the Armistice Agreement.”
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs called on the North to “halt its
belligerent action,” and said the US is “firmly committed” to South Korea’s
defense and to the “maintenance of regional peace and stability.”
REACTION IN TAIWAN
Taiwan’s government “strongly condemned” the various indications that North
Korea fired shells into South Korea’s waters, saying the incident was “obviously
provoking acts,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Yang (楊進添) said last night.
Concerned about peace and stability in the region, the government called on the
North to stop such provocative behavior, he said, adding that the government had
expressed condolence and concern about the South Koreans killed and injured in
the shelling.
Yang made the remarks at a 8:50pm press conference, after President Ma Ying-jeou
(馬英九) chaired a small national security meeting at the Presidential Office.
Earlier in the day, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman James Chang (章計平) said
the representative office in South Korea had activated its emergency response
mechanism, making contacts with Taiwanese in the country.
There were about 21,000 Taiwanese in South Korea, Chang said, adding that there
were no plans for an evacuation.
Russia, Japan, the EU and NATO condemned Pyongyang’s actions, while China
appealed to both sides to remain calm.
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