Published Date:
27-Jan-2012
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The exercise held near Yeonpyeong and Baengnyeong islands in the Yellow Sea was the first of its kind to be held since North Korean leader Kim Jong Il died in mid-December and was succeeded by his youngest son Kim Jong Un.

South Korean news reports said the drills lasted for about two hours and involved K-9 self-propelled guns and other artillery.

North Korea criticized Seoul's action, accusing the government of President Lee Myung Bak of causing tension despite expressing readiness to hold dialogue with the new leadership in Pyongyang.

The North's official Korean Central News Agency said the Lee government is "working hard to recreate through maneuvers for a war of aggression" the same situation as what happened after the shelling of a South Korean border island in 2010.

"However, all Koreans and the rest of the world clearly see through the shameless and bellicose true colors of the group," KCNA said.

North Korea launched an artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island in November 2010, killing two South Korean marines and two civilians.

Marine units on the two islands notified their residents of Thursday's exercise before it was held, advising them to take refuge in bomb shelters in the event of an emergency.

The islands lie just south of the Northern Limit Line, a de facto maritime border drawn by the U.S.-led forces of the United Nations at the end of the 1950-1953 Korean War. North Korea refuses to recognize it, demanding the borderline be drawn farther south.