A cave with coastal artillery (C) is seen at the North Korean village of Haeju where North Korea's military units are stationed in this undated photo taken from South Korea's Yeonpyeong Island, near the western maritime border between the two Koreas, 11 km (7 miles) from North Korea and about 115 km (71 miles) northwest of Seoul, released January 27, 2010. North and South Korea on Wednesday exchanged what appeared to be artillery fire near a disputed sea border with the South off the west coast of the peninsula, Yonhap news agency reported government officials as saying. South Korea's presidential Blue House said both sides were firing into the air and there were no casualties, according to Yonhap. It has called a meeting of top national security officials.
North Korea fired about 30 artillery rounds into the sea from its coast and the South immediately responded by firing 100 warning shots from a marine base on an island near the sea border, an officer at the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul said.
He said no casualties or damage were immediately reported, and that the North's artillery fire landed in its own waters while the South fired into the air. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because of department policy.
Later Wednesday, North Korea issued a statement saying it had fired artillery off its coast as part of an annual military drill and would continue to do so.
Such drills ''will go on in the same waters in the future,'' the General Staff of the (North) Korean People's Army said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
The exchange of fire came two days after the North designated two no-sail zones in the area, including some South Korean-held waters, through March 29.
South Korea's Defense Ministry sent the North's military a message expressing serious concern about the firing and saying it fostered ''unnecessary tension'' between the two sides.
It also urged the North to retract the no-sail zones, calling them a ''grave provocation'' and a violation of the Korean War armistice.
The western sea border -- drawn by the American-led U.N. Command at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War -- is a constant source of tension between the two Koreas, with the North insisting the line be moved further south.
Navy ships of the two Koreas fought a brief gunbattle in November that left one North Korean sailor dead and three others wounded. They engaged in similar bloody skirmishes in 1999 and 2002.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
DTN News: North Korea, South Korea Exchange Fire Near Disputed Border
DTN News: North Korea, South Korea Exchange Fire Near Disputed Border
*Source: DTN News / AP
(NSI News Source Info) SEOUL, South Korea - January 27, 2010: North Korea fired artillery and South Korea responded with warning shots along their disputed western sea border Wednesday, but there were no immediate reports of casualties and the North later said its barrage was part of a continuing military drill.A cave with coastal artillery (C) is seen at the North Korean village of Haeju where North Korea's military units are stationed in this undated photo taken from South Korea's Yeonpyeong Island, near the western maritime border between the two Koreas, 11 km (7 miles) from North Korea and about 115 km (71 miles) northwest of Seoul, released January 27, 2010. North and South Korea on Wednesday exchanged what appeared to be artillery fire near a disputed sea border with the South off the west coast of the peninsula, Yonhap news agency reported government officials as saying. South Korea's presidential Blue House said both sides were firing into the air and there were no casualties, according to Yonhap. It has called a meeting of top national security officials.
North Korea fired about 30 artillery rounds into the sea from its coast and the South immediately responded by firing 100 warning shots from a marine base on an island near the sea border, an officer at the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul said.
He said no casualties or damage were immediately reported, and that the North's artillery fire landed in its own waters while the South fired into the air. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because of department policy.
Later Wednesday, North Korea issued a statement saying it had fired artillery off its coast as part of an annual military drill and would continue to do so.
Such drills ''will go on in the same waters in the future,'' the General Staff of the (North) Korean People's Army said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
The exchange of fire came two days after the North designated two no-sail zones in the area, including some South Korean-held waters, through March 29.
South Korea's Defense Ministry sent the North's military a message expressing serious concern about the firing and saying it fostered ''unnecessary tension'' between the two sides.
It also urged the North to retract the no-sail zones, calling them a ''grave provocation'' and a violation of the Korean War armistice.
The western sea border -- drawn by the American-led U.N. Command at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War -- is a constant source of tension between the two Koreas, with the North insisting the line be moved further south.
Navy ships of the two Koreas fought a brief gunbattle in November that left one North Korean sailor dead and three others wounded. They engaged in similar bloody skirmishes in 1999 and 2002.
A cave with coastal artillery (C) is seen at the North Korean village of Haeju where North Korea's military units are stationed in this undated photo taken from South Korea's Yeonpyeong Island, near the western maritime border between the two Koreas, 11 km (7 miles) from North Korea and about 115 km (71 miles) northwest of Seoul, released January 27, 2010. North and South Korea on Wednesday exchanged what appeared to be artillery fire near a disputed sea border with the South off the west coast of the peninsula, Yonhap news agency reported government officials as saying. South Korea's presidential Blue House said both sides were firing into the air and there were no casualties, according to Yonhap. It has called a meeting of top national security officials.
North Korea fired about 30 artillery rounds into the sea from its coast and the South immediately responded by firing 100 warning shots from a marine base on an island near the sea border, an officer at the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul said.
He said no casualties or damage were immediately reported, and that the North's artillery fire landed in its own waters while the South fired into the air. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because of department policy.
Later Wednesday, North Korea issued a statement saying it had fired artillery off its coast as part of an annual military drill and would continue to do so.
Such drills ''will go on in the same waters in the future,'' the General Staff of the (North) Korean People's Army said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
The exchange of fire came two days after the North designated two no-sail zones in the area, including some South Korean-held waters, through March 29.
South Korea's Defense Ministry sent the North's military a message expressing serious concern about the firing and saying it fostered ''unnecessary tension'' between the two sides.
It also urged the North to retract the no-sail zones, calling them a ''grave provocation'' and a violation of the Korean War armistice.
The western sea border -- drawn by the American-led U.N. Command at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War -- is a constant source of tension between the two Koreas, with the North insisting the line be moved further south.
Navy ships of the two Koreas fought a brief gunbattle in November that left one North Korean sailor dead and three others wounded. They engaged in similar bloody skirmishes in 1999 and 2002.
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