Bombardment of Yeonpyeong

Yeonpyeong Island under North Korean artillery attack

Date	23 November 2010
Location	Yeonpyeong Island, Ongjin County, Incheon, South Korea
Result	ROK civilian evacuation of Yeonpyeong. Tensions increased between the two countries

Belligerents

North Korea

South Korea

Commanders and leaders

Kim Jong-il

VMAR. Ri Yong-ho

Col. Kim Kyong Su

Lee Myung-bak

Casualties and losses

South Korean claim:
5–10 killed and 30 wounded
North Korean claim:
None

2 dead
19 wounded
2 civilians killed
3 civilians wounded

Coordinates: 37°40′0″N 125°41′47″E / 37.66667°N 125.69639°E / 37.66667; 125.69639

The bombardment of Yeonpyeong was an artillery engagement between the North Korean military and South Korean forces stationed on Yeonpyeong Island on 23 November 2010. Following a South Korean artillery exercise in waters in the south, North Korean forces fired around 170 artillery shells and rockets at Yeonpyeong Island, hitting both military and civilian targets.

The shelling caused widespread damage on the island, killing four South Koreans and injuring 19. South Korea retaliated by shelling North Korean gun positions. The North Koreans subsequently stated that they had responded to South Korean shells being fired into North Korean territorial waters.

The incident caused an escalation of tension on the Korean Peninsula and prompted widespread international condemnation of the North's actions. The United Nations declared it to be one of the most serious incidents since the end of the Korean War, and by December 18 former UN ambassador Bill Richardson said tensions had escalated to become "the most serious crisis on the Korean peninsula since the 1953 armistice which ended the Korean War."

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Wikipedia