SKorea ends firing drills from border island

[ErnstBlofeld]

Fox News/Associated Press:

Yonhap news agency says South Korea has ended maritime artillery drills from a front-line island attacked last month by North Korea.

South Korea said it launched fighter jets to deter any North Korean attacks during the hour-long drills on Yeonpyeong. There were no immediate signs of any North Korean retaliation.

The island was shelled by the North after similar drills last month. Two marines and two civilians were killed.

The North considers the waters around Yeonpyeong its territory and has threatened to retaliate for any new drills.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

YEONPYEONG ISLAND, South Korea (AP) South Korea fired live artillery Monday in a drill from a front-line island where similar exercises sparked a deadly North Korean bombardment last month, pressing forward in defiance of the North's warnings to attack again.

The South sent fighter jets to skies along the border to deter any new North Korean attack and evacuated island residents to underground bunkers, nearly a month after the North's shelling of Yeongpyeong island killed two marines and two civilians. The North has said it would respond even more harshly to any new drills from the Yellow Sea island.

U.N. diplomats meeting in New York failed to find any solution to ease fears of a new war on the Korean peninsula. Hours later, Seoul's Defense Ministry said the drills were under way on the tiny enclave of fishing communities and military bases about seven miles (11 kilometers) from North Korean shores

[Casino67]

Just meandering thoughts.

 

I think NK just shot themselves in the foot. SK will probably not listened to any more of their bluster and if they do lob a few shells over the DMZ, SK will react quite firmly.

 

So is Richardson going to take credit? Did China finally come to their senses? One day it may be interesting to read what really happened there. NK remains a mystery.