11/22/2011, 00.00
KOREA
Send to a friend

Seoul announces large-scale drill aimed at North near Yeonpyeong Island

by Joseph Yun Li-sun
A year since the South Korean island was shelled, and four people killed by North Korea, South Korea is set to conduct large-scale exercises in the contested area.
Seoul (AsiaNews) – A year since the North Korean military launched an artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island, South Korea is getting ready to conduct large-scale military exercises on land, sea and air near the two countries' disputed border. A South Korean source said the drill is meant to stop Pyongyang from trying again and remind the North that the South has not forgotten. The exercises are scheduled to last all day tomorrow.

On 23 November 2010, a North Korean launched 170 shells or rockets at Yeonpyeong Island on the Yellow Sea borderline, briefly sparking fears of all-out war.

The Stalinist regime does not recognise the line that was drawn unilaterally after the Korean War.

The incident, which saw two marines and two civilians killed, caused widespread panic

Tomorrow’s drill is meant to simulate a response to a hypothetical North Korean bombardment.

A year later, many islanders are still suffering from the psychological effects of the attack. “Every time I hear a loud noise outside, I am startled and everything comes back to me. I feel nervous, and I can't sleep,” one said.

“G,” a 68-year-old woman, is still unable to sleep unless she takes medicine to relieve her anxiety.

“Some of the older people leave for the mainland because of fear whenever military base exercises are announced, only coming back when the exercises are over,” another resident said.

(Theresa Kim Hwa-young contributed to the article)
TAGs
Send to a friend
Printable version
CLOSE X
See also
Tensions between Seoul and Pyongyang rise as Cold War fears cast a shadow over Korea
12/02/2016 15:14
Vast US-Japan military exercise begins today
03/12/2010
Manila to boost ties with Washington and Tokyo against Beijing’s maritime ambitions
18/04/2024 20:07
South Koreans wait as Seoul sends more marines to island
25/11/2010
War games between the two Koreas as UN mediation fails
20/12/2010


Newsletter

Subscribe to Asia News updates or change your preferences

Subscribe now
“L’Asia: ecco il nostro comune compito per il terzo millennio!” - Giovanni Paolo II, da “Alzatevi, andiamo”