GUARDIAN– South Korea warned today that it will unleash “enormous retaliation” if North Korea launches fresh attacks against its territory.
North Korean troops bombarded Yeonpyeong, an island in disputed waters, with dozens of rounds of artillery earlier today, reportedly killing two South Korean soldiers and injuring around 20 people.
Seoul placed its military on its highest non-wartime alert level, scrambling F-16 fighter jets to the western sea and returning fire, officials said. It warned that the attack was a violation of the armistice that ended the Korean war in 1953.
The South Korean president, Lee Myung-bak, who convened an emergency security meeting shortly after the initial bombardment, said an “indiscriminate attack on civilians” could never be tolerated.
“Enormous retaliation should be made, to the extent that [North Korea] cannot make provocations again,” he said.
The assault is one of the most serious in the decades since the war, given the involvement of civilians, although previous firefights around the disputed maritime border have resulted in a higher number of casualties.
In a short statement carried by the official KCNA news agency, the North said the South had fired first – presumably in reference to a live-fire drill being carried out as part of annual military exercises. It said it had repeatedly warned the South not to go ahead with the drill.
Analysts said that despite the seriousness of the clash, the situation was unlikely to escalate dramatically given the high stakes involved for all parties.
It comes amid growing international concern over reports that North Korea has a new uranium enrichment facility.
Click to continue reading the full article by Tania Branigan for the Guardian on South Korea Warns North of ‘enormous retaliation’ after Attack.
article written by Tania Branigan for the Guardian UK
photography by Simo/flickr
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