South Korea this Saturday has delayed planned artillery drills from Yeonpyeong Island, the contested island near the Northern Limit Line battered by North Korean artillery on November 23rd. The cause of the delay is “bad weather”, however South Korea has been under a lot of foreign pressure from Russia and China to scrap the drills in order to ease tensions on the peninsula. The North has been very vocal over their protesting of the drills, but despite military threats, the drills are said to be proceeding regardless sometime before Tuesday.
The citizens who haven’t already evacuated Yeonpyeong are understandably nervous; if South Korea goes through with these drills, there can be no saying if North Korea won’t stick to its words and attack again. North Korea’s state news mouthpiece, KCNA, accused the US of using the remaining civilians on the island as a “human shield” against a North Korean attack. Such a provocation could ignite further disputes and potentially lead to all out war between the Koreas. Both sides have a lot to lose from a rekindled war.
Source: Associated Press / Yonhap News / KCNA
