Residents of Seohae 5 Islands Evacuated Due to North Korean Provocation Return Home After About 3 Hours

Evacuation Shelter Disbanded Around 3:46 PM

The evacuation order for residents on the five West Sea islands, which was issued due to North Korean coastal artillery fire on the 5th, was lifted after 3 hours and 30 minutes.

Incheon City Ongjin County announced that it lifted the evacuation order for residents on Yeonpyeong Island, Baengnyeong Island, and Daecheong Island at around 3:46 PM that day. It also explained that, at the request of the military authorities, residents who were in shelters from that time were dismissed.

Residents who took shelter in the Yeonpyeong Island evacuation center following North Korean provocations involving maritime firing near the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the West Sea [Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, Ongjin County received a request from the Marine Corps Headquarters at around 11:18 AM that day to prepare for an evacuation broadcast due to North Korean coastal artillery fire. At around 11:40 AM, it also informed the Incheon Disaster and Safety Comprehensive Situation Room by phone.

Subsequently, the three township offices, which received requests to open shelters, issued the evacuation order with 15 announcements at around 12:13 PM. Incheon City also sent a disaster text message at 1:21 PM, stating that our military would conduct naval firing in response to North Korean coastal artillery fire and asked residents to "be cautious in case of emergency."

As a result of this evacuation order, 508 residents, accounting for 24.3% of the entire population of Yeonpyeong Island, headed to eight shelters. On Baengnyeong Island, 269 people (9.3%) evacuated, and on Daecheong Island, 36 people (2.5%) evacuated. Students of Yeonpyeong Middle and High Schools also evacuated underground during meal times and then took refuge in nearby shelters. Passenger ships and fishing boats at sea all returned to the harbor.

According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, North Korean forces fired over 200 rounds of coastal artillery for two hours starting around 9 AM that day in the areas around Jangsan Cape north of Baengnyeong Island and Deungsan Cape north of Yeonpyeong Island. This was the first time in 1 year and 1 month since December 2022 that North Korean forces conducted firing drills in the coastal buffer zone.

The Joint Chiefs stated that North Korean shells fell north of the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the buffer zone in the West Sea, and classified this firing drill as a provocation. Conducting artillery firing and naval maneuver drills in the maritime buffer zone violates military agreements.

The Baengnyeong Island Marine 6th Brigade and Yeonpyeong Island Yeonpyeong Unit conducted a response-type naval firing drill using K9 self-propelled howitzers and tank guns from around 3 PM that day to respond to North Korean firing. This was the first time since the September 19, 2018 Inter-Korean Military Agreement that a Marine unit near the northwestern islands conducted a naval firing drill.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.