South Korea has announced an evacuation from the island of Yeonpyeongdo in the Yellow Sea due to a possible “provocation” from the DPRK.
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The administration of the Yeonpyeong district of Incheon, which administers the small group of Yeonpyeongdo islands, announced the evacuation of residents twice – at 12.02 and at 12.30. The authorities did this at the request of the military and are now facilitating the evacuation of civilians.
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“We received a message from the military about a situation related to a provocation from North Korea <…> after which they announced an evacuation,” a representative of the local administration said.
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On Friday, January 5, from 15.00 in the area of the island, the population of which, according to open data, is about 2.1 thousand people, South Korean Marine Corps exercises should begin.
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Yeonpyeongdo has already become the object of confrontation before. In November 2010, North Korean artillery opened fire on the island, killing two Marines and two civilians and injuring more than a dozen soldiers and several local residents. The impact also caused significant damage to the island.
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South Korea returned fire, which, according to North Korea, killed one soldier and wounded two. According to Seoul, at least 5-10 North Korean soldiers were killed and at least 30 were injured.
