SEOUL – Residents of two South Korean islands were evacuated to bomb shelters on Friday after North Korea fired about 200 artillery shells into the surrounding waters. This is reported by the local and South Korean military authorities.
The islands of Yeonpyeong and Baengnyeong on the west coast of the Korean Peninsula, which are close to the North Korean mainland, were shelled between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. (local time), the South Korean Ministry of Defense said. It was only around noon that residents were asked to take refuge in the island’s shelters. According to military authorities, there were no injuries or damage to report.
Local authorities in Yeonpyeong called the evacuation “preventive.” In 2010, a North Korean artillery strike on Yeonpyeong killed four people, including two civilians. Relations between the two countries are at a low point, with North Korea recently conducting several missile tests.
