N. Korea Warns of Retaliation for S. Korea Drill

N. Korea Warns of Retaliation for S. Korea Drill.(DN).SEOUL — North Korea warned Feb. 19 it will bombard islands near the disputed Yellow Sea border with South Korea if an upcoming naval firing drill by Seoul violates its territorial waters.
South Korean troops stationed on the five border islands will stage a regular monthly live-fire exercise in the area Monday, a Marine Corps spokesman told AFP.The North’s Western Sector Command warned residents of the islands to “evacuate to safe areas” before what it said was the scheduled start time of the exercise at 9 a.m. Feb. 20.
In a notice carried by Pyongyang’s official news agency, the North’s military said Seoul “should not forget the lesson” of the bombardment of Yeonpyeong Island in November 2010, which killed four South Koreans.“Once the group of traitors starts a reckless military provocation in those waters... in case just a single column of water is observed in its territorial waters, the KPA (North’s military) will promptly make merciless retaliatory strikes,” it said.
Pyongyang has taken a hostile tone towards Seoul since Kim Jong-Un, the youngest son of the late leader Kim Jong-Il, took over following the death of his father in December.
Yonhap news agency quoted a Joint Chiefs of Staff official as saying: “If North Korea provokes, we will hit back from the standpoint of exercising our right to self-defense.”
The U.S. and South Korean navies are to stage a separate joint anti-submarine drill in the Yellow Sea from Feb. 20 to Feb. 24 to guard against potential attacks by the communist state.
A major annual U.S.-South Korean drill known as Key Resolve will start Feb. 27 and continue until March 9. Separately, a joint air, ground and naval field training exercise known as Foal Eagle will be held from March 1 to April 30.North Korea has denounced the exercises as warmongering.Read the full story here.