South Korea holds live-fire drills near North Korea

On December 26, the South Korean Marine Corps held a live-fire exercise near the border with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the Yellow Sea amid rising tensions between the two Koreas.

South Korean soldiers patrol the DMZ (demilitarized zone) between North and South Korea on December 23. Photo: Reuters.

Exercises in the drill involving rocket launchers and automatic artillery firing took place on the two islands of Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong, the South Korean military said.

Hundreds of island residents were temporarily evacuated to a safe area during the two-hour exercise.

Yeonpyeong is the island that North Korea shelled in 2010, killing four people.

There has been no response from the North about the exercise, according to reports.

In June 2012, the US and South Korea conducted a joint live-fire exercise in Pocheon (northeast of Seoul) to prepare for external attacks.

The Pyongyang government has repeatedly threatened to "respond" to South Korea's live-fire drills, calling them provocative.

However, Seoul always maintains that their military exercises are part of a regular annual plan and are only aimed at national defense.

According to Tuoitre - DT