North Korea fires on South Korean warship

North Korea launched artillery fire Thursday near a South Korean warship patrolling south of the sea border between the two countries in the Yellow Sea, in an incident that raised a little over the growing tensions between the two. The shooting forced the move to shelters for residents of a South Korean island near the Yeonpyeong, which was already the scene of a crisis between the two countries in 2010, when it was bombed by the northern neighbor.

A South Korean military spokesperson Yonhap was quoted as saying that “a shell fell near our boat around 18.00 local time, 14 kilometers southwest of the island.” The ship was not damaged. The incident came after Pyongyang had threatened Thursday to attack warships of its southern neighbor ” without warning ” in response to the warning shots that South Korean patrol boats had launched against three North Korean ships that crossed the border.

Yeonpyeong, under the sovereignty of Seoul, is located off the coast norecoreana and just south of the call so ideally Northern Line (NLL), which divides the waters of the Korean peninsula since the end of the war between 1950 and 1953. The November 23, 2010 became the protagonist of a crisis on the peninsula, when North Korean troops fired several rounds of artillery that killed four people.

The tension between the two countries has increased recently, after North Korea threatened to carry out its fourth nuclear test. And this month two have been engaged in a duel of wits in which Seoul said that the remains of three drones found in its territory came from its northern neighbor, which Pyongyang emphatically denied.

Seoul Thursday launched a fresh appeal for Pyongyang to give up its nuclear program and resume talks with the international community. “It would be good for everyone if North Korea abandons its plans for a nuclear test and its nuclear programs and held a dialogue with the international community, including us,” said South Korean Foreign spokesman Cho Tai -young, quoted by Yonhap.

North Korea abandoned in 2008 the six-party talks on its nuclear program, which also involved South Korea, China, Russia, USA and Japan. Pyongyang carried out nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013.

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Posted by Khalil Khan on May 24 2014. Filed under World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.