Tensions high as two Koreas trade shelling

来源：百度文库 编辑：神马文学网 时间：2024/04/29 19:52:37

Tensions high as two Koreas trade shelling

08:17, November 24, 2010      

Email | Print | Subscribe | Comments | Forum 

Increases the bookmark twitter facebook digg Google Windowslive Delicious buzz friendfeed Linkedin diigo reddit stumbleupon


The two Koreas exchanged artillery fire Tuesday along their disputed border, raising tensions between the rivals to their highest level in more than a decade. It is reported that two South Korean Marines were killed in the shelling.

Pyongyang warned of more and harsher military strikes if South Korea encroaches on the maritime border by "even 0.001 millimeter." Seoul also warned North Korea Tuesday of "enormous retaliation" if Pyongyang took more aggressive steps.
China has urged for the two to restrain and do their best to maintain peace and stability in the Korea Peninsula.

U.S. President Barack Obama said that the United States will defend South Korea after what the White House branded an "outrageous attack" by North Korea on its neighbor. Yet with its options limited, the U.S. sought a diplomatic rather a military response to one of those most ominous clashes between the two Koreas.

"South Korea is our ally. It has been since the Korean War," Obama said in his first comments about the North Korean shelling of a South Korean island. "And we strongly affirm our commitment to defend South Korea as part of that alliance."

Obama, speaking to ABC News, would not speculate when asked about military options. He was expected to telephone South Korean President Lee Myung-bak late Tuesday night, and he met into the evening with his top national security advisers to discuss next steps, the Associated Press reported.

The skirmish began when North Korea warned South Korea to halt military drills near their sea border, according to South Korean officials. When Seoul refused and began firing artillery into disputed waters, the North troops retaliated by shelling the small island of Yeonpyeong, which houses South Korean military installations and a small civilian population.

Seoul responded by unleashing its own barrage from K-9 155mm self-propelled howitzers and scrambling fighter jets. Two South Korean marines were killed in the shelling that also injured 15 troops and three civilians. Seoul said there could be considerable North Korean casualties, too.

The confrontation lasted about an hour and left the uneasiest of calms, with each side threatening further bombardments.

South Korea's military was put on high alert after the shelling — one of the rivals' most dramatic confrontations since an armistice halted the Korean War in 1953.

The attacks focused global attention on the tiny island and sent stock prices down worldwide. The dollar and gold rose as investors sought safe places to park money. Hong Kong's main stock index sank 2.7 percent, while European indexes fell between 1.7 and 2.5 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 142 points, or 1.3 percent.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the artillery attack, and called for "immediate restraint" and insisted "any differences should be resolved by peaceful means and dialogue."

People's Daily Online
Related Reading

  • DPRK media accuses U.S. of tightening alliance with S Korea

  • DPRK fires at S Korean island, killing one soldier

  • China expresses concern over allegedly shell attack against S. Korea

  • South Koreans hurt, evacuated after artillery firing

  • DPRK fires artillery onto S. Korean island, S. Korea fires back

  • White House says DPRK's behavior "contradict" its pledge

  • DPRK accuses S. Korea of hampering north-south contact

  • Thousands of people pay tribute to victims of Shanghai blaze

  • Thousands mourn Shanghai apartment fire victims

    • Hong Kong Monetary Authority debuts new banknote

    • 5 landing sites pre-selected for Chang'e-3 lunar probe

    • Crisis buries Naples in garbage for months

    • China, Russia quit dollar in trade settlement

    • Chinese, Russian premiers pledge broader cooperation to enhance ties

    • China has 312 captive-bred pandas

    • Sluggish iPhone 4 supply to continue in China

    • Officials to harvest experience from overseas

    • China, India to hold talks on border issues

    • China, Russia quit dollar in trade settlement

      • Shelling between two Koreas stirs global alarm

      • Deadly stampedes over past 20 yrs

      • Devaluated Chinese college degree

      • Nobel Committee outdated

      • India to strengthen asymmetercal firepower by artillery modernisation?

      • China model has ups & downs for others

      • Chinese villagers 'descended from Roman soldiers'?

Tensions high as two Koreas trade shelling Political Tensions Grow as Iraqis Fail to Agr... 5 killed as two explosions hit Pakistan Free trade on agenda as APEC meets in Japan trade high High foreign trade Part Two Two Designers, Two Years, One Facelift... Two Weeks, Two Recalls for Mattel US, China put on smiles after tensions China seeks talks to ease Korean tensions US urges trilateral cooperation over tensions... 外贸（foreign trade） 外贸（foreign trade） 8.Two Dumplings Two Types of People 电子书下载地址two 金美辛section two 中国之美 two 优美的背景音乐TWO 水龍經as As/Though