North Korea's shelling of border island puts Koreas on war footing

From: AFP
November 24, 2010 11:43AM

SOUTH Korea's President has ordered his military to strike North Korean missile bases if the North shows further signs of provocation.

In what is one of the most serious border incidents since the 1950-53 war, North Korea fired dozens of shells at a South Korean island near the countries' disputed maritime border, killing two South Korean marines and injuring 18 others, four of them seriously.

TV reports said dozens of houses were on fire and showed footage of large plumes of black smoke billowing from the island.

South Korean batteries returned fire as the military went to "crisis status" and fighter planes were put on alert. The North also fired numerous rounds into the Yellow Sea.

South Korea's President, Lee Myung-bak, condemned the strike on Yeonpyeong Island in the Yellow Sea and threatened stern retaliation. "Given that North Korea maintains an offensive posture, I think the army, the navy and the air force should unite and retaliate against [the North's] provocation with multiple-fold firepower," he said.

"I think enormous retaliation is going to be necessary to make North Korea incapable of provoking us again."

North Korean state media accused South Korea of firing first and warned it would launch "merciless military attacks with no hesitation if the South Korean enemy dares to invade our sea territory".

"Belligerent action"

The White House led international condemnation of the strike, calling on the North to halt its "belligerent action" but said it was too early to consider any military response.

US President Barack Obama pledged his support in an interview with America's ABC News.

"South Korea is our ally. It has been since the Korean War," he said.

"And we strongly affirm our commitment to defend South Korea as part of that alliance."

He would not speculate when asked about military options.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned of "colossal danger'' from Korean tensions. "This could degenerate into military actions,'' he said.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said that the US was firmly committed to South Korea's defence and to the "maintenance of regional peace and stability". He also said that the US was in "close and continuing contact" with the South Korean administration.

The US urged nuclear-armed North Korea to "fully abide by the terms of the Armistice Agreement" that ended the Korean War of 1950-53.

Australia's Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, said that North Korea's actions were threatening stability in Asia and called on Pyongyang "to abide by international law and norms and to cease its hostile acts".

Japan's Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, said he had ordered his ministers to prepare for any eventuality.

"I ordered (government ministers) to make preparations so that we can react firmly, should any unexpected event occur," Mr Kan told reporters after an emergency meeting of cabinet members and senior officials at his official residence in Japan.

A spokesman for the South Korean military said that a class-A military alert for battle situations was imposed immediately after shelling began.

Sporadic firing by each side continued for over an hour before dying out.

Inhabitants of Yeonpyeong Island said they were terrified by the attacks. "Some time after our own military staged an artillery exercise, shells from the North started falling into our island," said Woo Soo-Woo, 62, a guest house owner on Yeonpyeong island.

"Flashes along with a thundering sound were seen here and there across our villages and up to 10 houses were engulfed in flames. Black smoke billowed around houses," he said, adding that the shooting started bushfires in the hills.

"I was at home but suddenly heard a thunderous sound outside. When I walked out, the whole village was on fire," said another villager quoted by Yonhap news agency.

The shelling began at 2.34pm local time after the North sent several messages protesting about South Korean naval, air force and army training exercises being staged close to the border, a presidential spokesman said.

Yeonpyeong lies just south of the border declared by United Nations forces after the war, but north of the sea border declared by Pyongyang.

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The Yellow Sea border was the scene of deadly naval clashes in 1999, 2002 and last November.

Tensions have been acute since the sinking of a South Korean warship in March, which Seoul says was the result of a North Korean torpedo attack.

South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak convened an emergency meeting of ministers and top advisers in an underground war room, a presidential spokesman said. He urged the officials "to prevent further escalation."

A South Korean official told the Yonhap news agency that the South was considering pushing the UN to condemn the North's actions.

"We're discussing the current situation with the UN," the foreign ministry official said on condition of anonymity.

Craving attention

The Guardian website said that North Korea's desire for international attention was a likely motive for the attack.

"This has been largely lacking over the past year following the stalling of the six party talks, involving the two Koreas, the US, Japan, Russia and China, on the regime's rogue nuclear and missile programmes," wrote Simon Tisdall, the paper's foreign affairs correspondent.

"Pyongyang wants to hold face to face negotiations with the US alone but so far the Obama administration has largely resisted.

"The North badly needs more international economic, development and food aid to bolster its chronically mismanaged economy ... At present, paranoia reigns, amid constant claims that the US is seeking regime change. This instability has been exacerbated by an apparent succession process in which the North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-il, is seeking to gradually transfer power to his youngest son.

"Regional analysts suggest that a fight for power could erupt when the ailing Kim dies. That struggle may already be underway and could involve members of the powerful military involved in triggering today's fighting."