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2 marines killed by DPRK in attack

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-11-24 11:09

INCHEON, Republic of Korea - The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Tuesday exchanged artillery fire with the Republic of Korea (ROK), after the DPRK shelled an island near their disputed sea border, killing at least two ROK marines, setting dozens of buildings ablaze and sending civilians fleeing for shelter.

The DPRK accused the ROK of firing first in one of the most serious clashes since the Korean War ended in 1953.

"Despite our repeated warnings, the ROK fired dozens of shells from 1 pm ... and we've taken strong military action immediately," its official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a brief statement.

The supreme military command in Pyongyang threatened more strikes if the ROK crossed their maritime border by "even 0.001 millimeter", according to the KCNA.

The ROK returned fire, and scrambled fighter jets to the area. The military said it was conducting regular military drills off the west coast before the DPRK started firing dozens of shells. But Seoul said its firing exercises were not aimed at the DPRK. It is not clear whether there had been any military drills near the island that could have triggered the incident.

"We were conducting usual military drills and our test shots were aimed toward the west, not the north," an ROK military official said.

ROK President Lee Myung-bak, who has pursued a hard line with the DPRK since taking office nearly three years ago, said a response had to be firm following the attack on Yeonpyeong island, 120 km west of Seoul.

The United Nations Security Council could hold an emergency meeting in the next day or two over the increasing tension, a French diplomatic source told reporters on Tuesday.

The exchange was a sharp escalation of skirmishes that flare up periodically along the disputed border, and it comes amid renewed tension over the DPRK's claim that it has a new uranium enrichment facility.

The two Koreas are still technically at war - the Korean War (1950-1953) ended only with a truce. Tensions rose

sharply in March after Seoul accused Pyongyang of torpedoing one of its navy vessels, killing 46 sailors, an accusation that was strongly denied by Pyongyang.

Columns of thick black smoke could be seen rising from homes on the island in footage aired by Yonhap Television News (YTN) in the ROK. Screams and shouts filled the air as shells rained down on the island for about an hour.

"I thought I would die," Lee Chun-ok, 54, told The Associated Press after being evacuated to the port city of Incheon, west of Seoul. "I was really, really terrified, and I'm still terrified."

She said she was watching TV when the shelling began, and a wall and door in her home suddenly collapsed.

"Houses and mountains are on fire and people are evacuating. You can't see very well because of plumes of smoke," a witness on the island told YTN before the shelling ended.

YTN said at least 200 shells hit Yeonpyeong. Most landed on a military base there.

The ROK military said two marines were killed in the attack, 17 were wounded and three civilians were also hurt.

China Daily - Agencies