ID :
151862
Tue, 11/30/2010 - 19:37
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/151862
The shortlink copeid
S Korea authorities restrict media activity on Yeonpyeong Island
TOKYO, November 30 (Itar-Tass) - The South Korean authorities have
imposed restrictions on the activities of the press on the Yeonpyeong
Island that on November 23 was shelled by North Korea. According to
incoming reports, all its territory has been declared a special area under
the control of the military.
A considerable area of Yeonpyeong, including its western side, facing
North Korea is closed for reporters. All its main automobile roads are
also blocked.
Under the pretext of ensuring security journalists have been ordered
to leave the island, but this order is mostly boycotted. There are 115
representatives of South Korean and foreign media on the Yeonpyeong Island
who are trying to continue their work.
On November 23, North Korean artillery fired about 170 shells on the
island. Four people were killed, including two civilians, and 18 wounded
in the incident, which has sharply increased tensions on the Korean
Peninsula.
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. The North Korean actions were
believed by some experts to have been at least partially due to the
succession of power taking place in the North Korean government, with Kim
Jong-un appointed as the designated successor to Kim Jong-il, and the role
of the North Korean military in foreign policy. Robert Kelly, an assistant
professor at Pusan National University in South Korea, says that Seoul's
increasing global stature may have provoked Pyongyang. "My primary guess
is that this is a response to the recent international prestige taken by
South Korea at the G20. The G20 highlighted North Korean backwardness in
the same way that it highlighted that South Korea was a partner of this
global elite organisation.., and the North Koreans don't like this," he
said. It has also been suggested that the provocation is linked to the
North's need for food aid.
-0-ezh/gor
imposed restrictions on the activities of the press on the Yeonpyeong
Island that on November 23 was shelled by North Korea. According to
incoming reports, all its territory has been declared a special area under
the control of the military.
A considerable area of Yeonpyeong, including its western side, facing
North Korea is closed for reporters. All its main automobile roads are
also blocked.
Under the pretext of ensuring security journalists have been ordered
to leave the island, but this order is mostly boycotted. There are 115
representatives of South Korean and foreign media on the Yeonpyeong Island
who are trying to continue their work.
On November 23, North Korean artillery fired about 170 shells on the
island. Four people were killed, including two civilians, and 18 wounded
in the incident, which has sharply increased tensions on the Korean
Peninsula.
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. The North Korean actions were
believed by some experts to have been at least partially due to the
succession of power taking place in the North Korean government, with Kim
Jong-un appointed as the designated successor to Kim Jong-il, and the role
of the North Korean military in foreign policy. Robert Kelly, an assistant
professor at Pusan National University in South Korea, says that Seoul's
increasing global stature may have provoked Pyongyang. "My primary guess
is that this is a response to the recent international prestige taken by
South Korea at the G20. The G20 highlighted North Korean backwardness in
the same way that it highlighted that South Korea was a partner of this
global elite organisation.., and the North Koreans don't like this," he
said. It has also been suggested that the provocation is linked to the
North's need for food aid.
-0-ezh/gor
