Smoke rises from South Korean Yeonpyeong Island after being hit by dozens of artillery shells fired by North Korea November 23, 2010. Several South Korean civilians and soldiers were wounded and many others were being evacuated to bunkers on Tuesday, a Seoul television reported. The island is located near the western maritime border between the two Koreas, 11 km (7 miles) from the North and about 115 km (71 miles) northwest of Seoul. REUTERS/Yonhap
Like a temperamental volcano, North Korea is acting up again. Just over an hour ago, the North fired at least 200 rounds of artillery shells at the South’s Yeonpyeong island, according to CNN.
“People are frightened to death and shelling continues as we speak,” a witness on the island told Seoul TV station YTN. “Houses and mountains are on fire and people are evacuating.”
At least 15 South Korean soldiers have been injured and around 60 houses have caught on fire, according to reports from various media outlets.
(See TIME’s photoessay “Koreas Exchange Fire at Disputed Border”)
South Korea’s military is now on its highest non-wartime alert, according to Reuters, which also reported that the South has warned of a stronger response if the North continues provocations.
Yeonpyeong has an estimated 1,300 resident and is a long-disputed territory that the UN considers part of South Korea. (via Reuters, CNN and YTN)