N. Korea warns South ahead of shelling anniversary
North Korea warned Sunday of
“merciless” attacks on South Korean
border islands if Seoul stages live-fire
drills near the maritime border on the
fifth anniversary of Pyongyang’s deadly
shelling attack.
The bombardment of Yeonpyeong island
off the west coast on November 23, 2010
killed four South Koreans including two
civilians and sparked brief fears of full-
scale war.
South Korea’s military has in the past
staged live-fire exercises near the Yellow
Sea border around the anniversary as a
show of strength.
The North’s Southwestern Front
Command in charge of the tense border
area accused Seoul Sunday of planning
another “provocative” live-fire drill to
mark the fifth anniversary.
“If the South Korean military fires at the
waters of the (North)…on Monday, they
will experience merciless retaliation of
the Southwestern Front units…on the
five (border) islands,” it said in a
statement carried by the state-run
Korean Central News Agency.
It was not known whether the South
would stage any such exercise and the
defence ministry was not available for
comment.
Pyongyang, known for its habitual
warnings of attacks on the South, rarely
follows through with such threats.
“The bellicose forces of the South Korean
military should come to their senses,”
Sunday’s statement said.
It urged Seoul to honour a recent
agreement aimed at easing tension
sparked by a landmine explosion that
maimed two South Korean border guards
and was blamed on Pyongyang.
The agreement also paved the way for a
rare reunion of families separated by the
1950-53 Korean War. This was held last
month amid signs of a thaw in icy ties.
The Yellow Sea border — unilaterally
drawn by US-led UN forces at the end of
the war and not recognised by
Pyongyang — was the scene of deadly
naval clashes in 1999, 2002 and 2009.
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