Norks Scare Yellow Sea Fish With Artillery Barrage

The physical response to South Korean naval exercises that was threatened by North Korea appears to have been an artillery barrage into its own waters in the Yellow Sea. North Korea is also still holding a Southern fishing boat.

A battery reportedly opened fire around 1730 local time (0830 GMT), directing shells into its own waters. The firing came just after the end of South Korean-US naval exercises which had provoked warnings of retaliation from the North.

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The shelling appears to have begun about half an hour after the naval exercises ended. "All we know is that North Korea fired artillery rounds into its sea off the west coast, but we have no more details as of now," Lt Cdr Yu Jae-il of the South's joint chiefs of command told Reuters news agency by phone from Seoul. About 100 shells were apparently fired, falling harmlessly into the sea.

On Sunday, the South accused the North of detaining one of its fishing boats, the Daeseung. The ship had stopped sending signals after a fishing trip to the Sea of Japan, known in Korea as the East Sea, on Saturday. South Korea's coastguard said they had learnt that the ship was being investigated by North Korean officials.
They called for a "swift resolution to the matter", and safe return of the vessel and its crew.

UPDATE: The South Korean Navy has voiced concern about the threat posed to its ships by Nork coastal artillery.

The North's coastal artillery batteries consist mostly of 130 mm large-caliber guns with a range of 27 km capable of firing six shells per minute, and 76.2 mm guns with a range of 12 km capable of firing eight shells per minute.

They are stationed in cave emplacements and are rolled back and forth on 5 m rails. Gunners have to open the doors to the emplacements and remove camouflage flaps before firing, which at least gives the South Korean military some warning.

By: Shelldrake