Space Travel News  
NUKEWARS
North Korean artillery pounds S.Korean island

by Staff Writers
Seoul (AFP) Nov 24, 2010
North Korea fired a deadly barrage of artillery shells onto a South Korean island on Tuesday in one of the most serious border incidents since the 1950-1953 war, inciting global condemnation.

South Korea's military went on top alert, its troops fired back with cannon and the government met in an underground war room, officials said, in response to what Seoul called an atrocity against civilians.

North Korea's supreme command, however, accused South Korea of firing first and vowed "merciless military attacks with no hesitation if the South Korean enemy dares to invade our sea territory by 0.001 mm".

But condemnation of Pyongyang poured in from the United States, which has 28,500 troops in South Korea, along with Russia, Japan and Western Europe.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for restraint from both sides after condemning the attack by the North.

No country has yet requested a meeting of the UN Security Council, diplomats said.

China -- North Korea's sole major ally and economic prop -- also urged restraint, and called for the resumption of stalled six-nation talks aimed at dismantling Pyongyang's nuclear drive.

The firing came after North Korea's disclosure of an apparently operational uranium enrichment plant -- a second potential way of building a nuclear bomb -- which is causing serious alarm for the United States and its allies.

It also comes as North Korea prepares for an eventual dynastic succession from Kim Jong-Il to his youngest son, Kim Jong-Un. The expected transfer is fuelling speculation about the opaque regime's military and nuclear intentions.

The United States "strongly condemned" the attack on the border island of Yeonpyeong but said it was too early to consider any military response.

"We're still monitoring the situation and talking with our allies," Pentagon spokesman Colonel Dave Lapan told reporters.

The White House said President Barack Obama was shortly due to speak with his South Korean counterpart Lee Myung-Bak to discuss the crisis.

South Korean General Lee Hong-Ki accused Pyongyang of a "pre-planned" attack and an "inhumane atrocity that fired random shells towards residential areas of defenceless civilians".

Some 50 shells landed on Yeonpyeong near the tense Yellow Sea border, damaging dozens of houses and sending plumes of thick smoke into the air, YTN television reported.

Two South Korean marines -- part of a contingent based permanently on the frontline island -- were killed, the military said.

Another 15 marines were wounded along with three civilians, officials said. They said South Korean forces fired 80 rounds back from K-9 self-propelled guns on Yeonpyeong.

"A Class-A military alert issued for battle situations was imposed immediately after shelling began," a military spokesman told AFP.

Sporadic firing by each side continued for more than an hour, the military said.

The shelling began at 2:34 pm (0534 GMT) after the North sent several messages protesting about South Korean exercises being staged south of the border, a presidential spokesman said.

"Flashes along with a thunderous sound were seen here and there across our villages and up to 10 houses were engulfed in flames," said Woo Soo-Woo, 62, who fled to the mainland by ferry along with scores of other islanders.

Yeonpyeong lies just south of the border declared by UN forces after the war, but north of the sea border declared by Pyongyang. 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. Pyongyang has rejected the charge.

President Lee convened an emergency meeting of ministers and national security advisers in an underground war room.

His office warned that South Korea would "sternly retaliate" for any further provocations.

Inter-Korean talks scheduled for Thursday, aimed at arranging further reunions of families separated by the war, were shelved.

Professor Kim Yong-Hyun of South Korea's Dongguk University said North Korea had staged an "intentional provocation to heighten cross-border tensions" and to unify its people during the leadership succession.

"It is also sending a strong message to the United States and the international community that the peninsula urgently needs a peace regime," to replace the uneasy 1953 armistice and win Pyongyang more legitimacy, he said.

While others around the world lashed out at North Korea, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Beijing had "taken note of the relevant report and we express concern over the situation".

burs-mtp/co



Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com
Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com
All about missiles at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


NUKEWARS
US: too early for military action after North Korea assault
Washington (AFP) Nov 23, 2010
The United States said Tuesday it was too early to consider a military response to North Korea's attack on a South Korean island, while President Barack Obama was "outraged" by the deadly assault. Obama was awakened before dawn with news of one of the worst border crises in 60 years and the White House immediately demanded Pyongyang respect an Armistice agreement that ended the 1950-53 Korea ... read more







NUKEWARS
45th Space Wing Launches NRO Satellite

Ball Aerospace STPSat-2 Satellite Launches Aboard STP-S26 Mission

Resourcesat-2 Satellite Launch In January

Ukraine Delivers Taurus II Launch Vehicle's First Stage To US

NUKEWARS
Russia To Launch Unmanned Lander To Martian Moon In October 2011

NASA Mars Rover Images Honor Apollo 12

Russia To Launch Unmanned Lander To Martian Moon In October 2011

Leicester Scientists Involved In Development Of New Breed Of Space Vehicle

NUKEWARS
Mining On The Moon Is A Not-So-Distant Possibility

A Softer Landing on the Moon

New Analysis Explains Formation Of Lunar Farside Bulge

New type of moon rock identified

NUKEWARS
Kuiper Belt Of Many Colors

Reaching The Mid-Mission Milestone On The Way To Pluto

New Horizons Student Dust Counter Instrument Breaks Distance Record

Nitrogen Methane Dominate Icy Surface Of Eris

NUKEWARS
Planet From Another Galaxy Discovered

First glimpse of a planet from another galaxy

Eartly Dust Tails Point To Alien Worlds

U.K. astronomers see 'snooker' star system

NUKEWARS
DARPA Concludes Review Of Falcon HTV-2 Flight Anomaly

NASA Test Fires New Rocket Engine for Commercial Space Vehicle

Rocketdyne To Perform Risk-Reduction Tests On 3GRB Engine

SpaceShipTwo designer Rutan retiring

NUKEWARS
China To Launch First Female Astronauts

Two Telescopes For Tiangong

Chinese Female Taikonaut Identified

Tiangong Space Lab Spurs China Space PR Blitz

NUKEWARS
Hayabusa's Harvest

Comet Snowstorm Engulfs Hartley 2

Japan confirms space probe brought home asteroid dust

Hayabusa Spacecraft Returns Asteroid Artifacts From Space


The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement