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Shelling Of Yeonpyeong, Korean Peninsula
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Engagement
On 23 November 2010, South Korea held a naval exercise, and then at approximately 14:34 local time, the North Korean military began to fire artillery shells at South Korean positions on Yeonpyeong Island. With the South Korean military base as well as several civilian buildings taking severe fire, the South Korean military responded with artillery fire from K-9 155mm self-propelled howitzers against two North Korean coastal artillery bases. With power on Yeonpyeong knocked out and several fires breaking out as a result of the North Korean shelling, the South Korean military ordered civilians to evacuate to bunkers. The South Korean military reinforced its assets on the island by scrambling South Korean Air Force F-16 fighter jets to the area.
According to an island resident, after South Korean forces "staged an artillery exercise, shells from the North started falling into our island".
The South Korean Deputy Minister of Defense acknowledged that South Korean artillery units had earlier been firing test shots close to the North Korean coast from Baengnyeong Island, but denied that the shots had crossed into the North Korean sea area.
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