North Korea fired dozens of artillery shells at the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong, off the west coast of the Korean peninsula. Dozens of houses are on fire after the shelling and the South Korea military is now trying to determine the degree of damage. Yeonpyeong is burning up in flames right now.
The North has continuously carried out provocative actions against South Korea, but an outright artillery shelling is unprecedented. Basically, a wartime provocation has now occurred in Yeonpyeong.
South Korean military has returned fire abiding by the engagement rules, and is now analyzing the North's motives. Why the North carried out such an action is irrelevant now. The important issue is that North Korea intentionally carried out an organized attack.
This might be a warning against the South Korean military's "Hoguk" training, which started yesterday. However, firing artillery shells against the South during midday is clearly an act of war. North Korea must take responsibility for this action and the global community, along with South Korea, should seek effective retaliation measures.
