North Korean attack on Yeonpyeong Island is worst against civilians in 20 years
A South Korean soldier was killed and 13 others injured after North Korea fired dozens of artillery shells onto a South Korean island, setting more than 60 houses ablaze and sending civilians fleeing in terror.
Obama must be hiding under his desk. This is an act of war and an attempt to divert international attention to North Korea's recent revelations:
North Korea is working on two new nuclear facilities, a light water power reactor in early stages of construction, and a "stunning . . . modern, clean centrifuge plant" for uranium enrichment, which appears nearly complete. The latter is particularly significant because it could produce more than enough highly enriched uranium to make a nuclear weapon every year—and it may not be the only such facility in North Korea. North Korea's artillery bombardment of the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong yesterday makes it doubly clear that Pyongyang intends to leverage its new nuclear breakthrough for maximum concessions from the international community.
North Korea Bombards South Korean Island in Deadly Attack AOL News
(Nov. 23) -- North Korea fired more than 100 artillery shells onto a South Korean border island today, killing two southern marines and wounding 18 others in a brazen attack that prompted the South to return fire and put its military on its highest alert. South Korea's president said he would unleash "enormous retaliation" should the North strike again.
President Barack Obama was awoken around 4 a.m. with news of the clash, and is phoning South Korea's president, the BBC reported.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called it "one of the gravest incidents since the end of the Korean War," a spokesman told The Associated Press. The United Nations Security Council plans to hold an emergency meeting today or Wednesday to discuss the attack, a French diplomat told Reuters.Fires burned out of control on Yeonpyeong Island, one of South Korea's closest territories to the communist north, which houses a South Korean military base alongside the homes of about 1,700 civilians. At least three civilians and 15 South Korean troops were among those wounded, a defense official told The New York Times.
"I ran outside my house when my windows shattered from the blasts," resident Lee Jong-sik told the JoongAng Daily newspaper. She said blasts rang out across the island every five minutes. It was the first time in 50 years the island has suffered any attacks, she said.
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Related Articles (hat tip Armaros)
- South Korea scrambles fighter jets as North Korea shells island 23 Nov 2010
- North Korea's conflict with the South: timeline 23 Nov 2010
- Q&A: North Korea 23 Nov 2010
- North Korea has built sophisticated uranium enrichment facility, US scientist says
