This is courtesy of Fox News March 31, 2014
We wanted to document the current North Korean threats near where Beau is serving.
As far as we know artillery has been directed to the Island Yeonpyeong.
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North and South Korea fired hundreds of artillery shells into each
other's waters Monday in a flare-up of animosity that forced residents
of five front-line South Korean islands to evacuate to shelters for
several hours, South Korean officials said.
South Korean Marines fired artillery shells across a disputed sea
border after North Korean shells from a live fire drill conducted by
Pyongyang fell into the water south of the frontier, Seoul officials
told the Associated Press.
There were no reports of any injuries. Residents on front-line South
Korean islands spent several hours in shelters during the firing, and
officials temporarily halted ferry service linking the islands to the
mainland. Kang Myeong-sung, speaking from a shelter on Yeonpyeong
island, which is in sight of North Korean territory, said he didn't hear
any fighter jets but heard the boom of artillery fire.
North Korea fired 500 rounds of artillery shells over more than three
hours, about 100 of which fell south of the sea boundary, South Korean
Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said later Monday. South Korea
responded by firing 300 shells into North Korean waters, he said.
No shells from either side were fired at any land or military
installations, but Kim called the North's artillery firing a provocation
aimed at testing Seoul's security posture. There was no immediate
comment from North Korea.
The exchange of fire followed Pyongyang's earlier, unusual
announcement that it would conduct the drills, a move seen as an
expression of Pyongyang's frustration at making little progress in its
recent push to win outside aid.
The world is watching the artillery exchange between the Koreas with
concern. White House spokesman Jonathan Lalley called North Korea's
actions "dangerous and provocative" and said they will only deepen its
isolation. The U.S. remains steadfast in its commitment to the defense
of its allies and is working in close coordination with South Korea and
Japan, Lalley said Monday.
Russia also urged restraint. ``We are worried about the mutual
toughening of rhetoric, including the declaration by North Korea that it
could conduct a new nuclear test,'' Reuters reported the Russian
Foreign Ministry said in a statement Monday.
The Russians also criticized the U.S. for holding military exercises
with South Korea which it said were aggravating the situation.
The poorly marked western sea boundary has been the scene of several
bloody naval skirmishes between the Koreas in recent years. In March
2010, a South Korean warship sank in the area following a torpedo attack
blamed on Pyongyang that left 46 sailors dead. North Korea denies
responsibility for the sinking. In November 2010, a North Korean
artillery bombardment killed four South Koreans on Yeonpyeong.
The North has gradually dialed down its threats since last year's
tirade and has sought improved ties with South Korea in what foreign
analysts say is an attempt to lure investment and aid. There has been no
major breakthrough, however, with Washington and Seoul calling on the
North to first take disarmament steps to prove its sincerity about
improving ties.
Recent weeks have seen an increase in threatening rhetoric and a
series of North Korean rocket and ballistic missile launches considered
acts of protest by Pyongyang against annual ongoing springtime military
exercises by Seoul and Washington. The North calls the South Korea-U.S.
drills a rehearsal for invasion; the allies say they're routine and
defensive.
"The boneheads appear to have completely forgotten the fact that
Yeonpyeong island was smashed by our military's bolt of lightning a few
years ago," a North Korean military official, Yun Jong Bum, said Monday,
according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency.
Pyongyang also threatened Sunday to conduct a fourth nuclear test,
though Seoul sees no signs it's imminent. Wee Yong-sub, a deputy
spokesman at the South Korean Defense Ministry, said the North Korean
warning about the live-fire drills Monday was a "hostile" attempt to
heighten tension on the Korean Peninsula.
Recent threats are an expression of anger and frustration over what
the North sees as little improvement in progress in its ties with South
Korea and the U.S., said Lim Eul Chul, a North Korea expert at South
Korea's Kyungnam University. Lim said the North might conduct a fourth
nuclear test and launch other provocations to try to wrest the outside
concessions it wants.
The Korean Peninsula remains in a technical state of war because the
1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. About
28,500 American troops are deployed in South Korea to deter potential
aggression from North Korea.
