Statement urges Seoul to cancel military exercise
The North Korean military is threatening an even “deadlier” attack on South Korea than the one it launched last November 23 if Seoul goes ahead with a planned test of artillery from the island North Korea shelled last month. Four people died when North Korea launched some 170 artillery rounds on Yeonpyeong in November, an island in the Yellow Sea that’s been controlled by South Korea for decades. North Korean officials have long been annoyed at the maritime border between the two countries, which gives South Korea control over the waters around Yeonpyeong and forces North Korean ships to make a longer trek to before they can reach the open sea. The attack against Yeonpyeong, which led most of the island’s 1,400 residents to flee, amounted to a dramatic escalation of Pyongyang’s claims to the water.