Photo: Ships of the South Korean Navy during a fleet reviews ( Credit: US Navy/Mass Communication 1st Class Bobbie G. Attaway)

Tensions high as North Korea attacks Yeonpyeong Island
South Korean Navy retaliates...

Following shelling in disputed waters off Yeonpyeong Island in South Korea in August, North Korea has made an attack on the Island itself, causing damage to homes and injuring residents and military personnel according to reports this morning.

This series of military action also flows from the sinking of a South Korean warship in April, which has been blamed on North Korea, a claim the reclusive state hotly denies.

The islands in this disputed area are home to fishermen as well as marines of the South Korean Navy and have long been associated with skirmishes and exchanges of fire between the two Koreas.

The latest attacks have seen shelling of the island itself, which has around 1000 South Korean naval servicemen there. The attacks came whilst the South began an annual military exercise called the Hoguk, involving her army, airforce, navy and marines, an operation that the North calls 'provocative'.

There were planned maritime drills with the US this year, but these were called off, with China expressing concerns at US involvement in the Yellow (or West) Sea, an area she still maintains is in her territory.

Residents on the island report plumes of smoke rising from hillsides and houses and media reports say the South Korean Navy has retaliated.

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