'Artillery firing' on Korea border

23/11/2010| IslamWeb

South Korea has returned fire after North Korea fired artillery shells onto a South Korean island and into the sea near the countries' disputed western border.

A resident of Yeonpyeong island near the tense Yellow Sea border told YTN television by phone that some 50 shells landed and dozens of houses were damaged.

Another island resident, Lee Jong-Sik, told YTN: "At least 10 houses are burning. I can't see clearly for the smoke. The hillsides are also on fire.

"We were told by loudspeakers to flee our homes." TV footage showed huge plumes of smoke rising from the island. Military officials said four soldiers are wounded in the shelling.

Steve Chao, Al Jazeera's Seoul-based correspondent, said that the island is the base of South Korea's second fleet that has been attacked by North Korea in the past.

"There was a joint South Korea-US naval exercise in the area yesterday," our correspondent said.

A South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff official said South Korea fired back almost immediately. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of JCS rules.

"A North Korean artillery unit staged an illegal firing provocation at 2:34 pm (0534 GMT) and South Korean troops fired back immediately in self-defense," a ministry spokesman said.

South Korea said it has scrambled F-16 fighter jets to assess the situation on Yeonpyeong island.

The firing comes amid tension over North Korea's claim that it has a new uranium enrichment facility.

The countries' western maritime boundary has long been a flash point between the two Koreas.

The North does not recognize the border that was unilaterally drawn by the United Nations at the close of the 1950-53 Korean War.

North and South Korea have fought three bloody skirmishes near the maritime border in recent years, most recently in November 2009.

PHOTO CAPTION

Smoke billow from Yeonpyeong island near the border against North Korea, in South Korea, Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2010.

Al-Jazeera