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SEOUL — South Korean troops staged a live-fire artillery exercise Feb. 20 near the disputed Yellow Sea border despite threats from North Korea's new leadership of "merciless" retaliation.
The defense ministry said the Marine Corps, which guards "front line" islands near the flashpoint border, began the exercise at about 10 a.m. and ended it before noon.
About 1,400 civilians living on the islands were evacuated to bomb shelters during the drill, a local official said.
"No unusual movement was detected from the North Korean side during the drill, the second of its kind this year," a ministry spokesman said, adding K-9 self-propelled howitzers, Vulcan cannon and mortars were fired.
He declined to confirm a Yonhap news agency report that the Marines fired some 5,000 rounds into South Korean waters.
The North was notified Feb. 19 of the scheduled exercise. Hours afterward, its military vowed "merciless retaliatory strikes" if any shells land in waters claimed by Pyongyang.
It said Seoul "should not forget the lesson" of the bombardment of Yeonpyeong island in November 2010, which killed four South Koreans.
The North justified that attack as retaliation for the South's live-fire exercise which allegedly dropped shells into the North's waters.
The 2010 attack briefly sparked fears of war and triggered a major South Korean military buildup on the islands. Seoul has vowed to hit back harder, using air power, for any fresh strike.
Seoul's unification ministry, which handles cross-border ties, said the regular exercise was held to safeguard national security and was not related to inter-Korean relations.
The drill is taking place during the delicate transition period following the death in December of the North's longtime leader Kim Jong-Il, who was succeeded by his young and untested son Jong-Un.
The U.S. and South Korean navies started a separate five-day joint anti-submarine drill Feb. 20, further south in the Yellow Sea to guard against potential attacks by the North. It reportedly involves some 20 craft, including two Aegis ships from the U.S. and one from Seoul, as well as Lynx helicopters and surveillance aircraft.
A major annual U.S.-South Korean exercise known as Key Resolve will start Feb. 27 and continue until March 9. North Korea denounces such joint drills as a rehearsal for invasion.
