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In distinction, in 2010, Jung stated his household was unable to salvage any of their belongings from their burning home and had no alternative however to run.
“The shells rained down, smoke billowed, and the whole lot was engulfed in flames and destroyed, there was no time to consider the rest,” he informed Agence France-Presse.
Having to flee once more on Friday, 70-year-old Jung stated it felt each unusual and “reminiscent” of the 2010 incident.
However “I wasn’t too shocked,” he stated. “I’ve even skilled [my house] being instantly hit by artillery fireplace earlier than.”
On Saturday, North Korea fired one other 60 artillery shells within the space, Seoul’s army stated, urging Pyongyang to right away stop “actions that improve stress” alongside the maritime border.
Yeonpyeong is extraordinarily shut – lower than 2km (1.5 miles) – to the de facto maritime border between the 2 Koreas generally known as the Northern Restrict Line (NLL).
Though it’s managed by Seoul and on the southern aspect of the de facto maritime border, the sparsely populated island is way nearer to North Korea.
It’s only round 42km away from the North Korean metropolis of Haeju, whereas being located about 115km west of the South Korean capital Seoul.
On a transparent day in autumn months, the railway station in Haeju, in addition to the plumes of smoke rising from the town’s factories, will be seen from a hilltop on Yeonpyeong.
Yeonpyeong operates round 10 shelters throughout the island outfitted with medical beds, youngsters’s books and fuel masks, amongst different supplies.
“We at all times hold the shelter doorways open,” an official from the Yeonpyeong district workplace stated at one of many shelters the place round 200 residents stayed on Friday.
“Our goal is to make sure that folks can search refuge right here every time essential.”
The streets and residents of Yeonpyeong remained peaceable early on Saturday, with army troopers visiting hair salons and other people having fun with bike rides on quiet roads.
“I at all times have this understanding in my thoughts that … [Yeonpyeong Island] is a tense place within the Yellow Sea,” a hairdresser and island resident, who requested to not be named, informed Agence France-Presse.
“If we’re informed to go to a shelter, we should always observe the directions, since we dwell on this place.
“There’s no want to fret excessively. Tomorrow is tomorrow, and in the present day is in the present day.”
However resident Kim Na-yeon, 69, stated she suffered from trauma stemming from the 2010 incident, and stated many aged girls on the island have been deeply shaken and stuffed with concern – each on Friday and in the course of the 2010 shelling.
Fourteen years in the past, Kim stated that individuals sought refuge in a poorly constructed, rudimentary shelter the place they might see lifeless mice, anxiously awaiting non-public and public ferries to evacuate them from the realm.
On Friday, “I used to be anxious and didn’t know if I ought to fall asleep or not, so I left a bag by the door with out even unpacking it”, she stated.
As a result of its location, round 30 per cent of the island’s residents are struggle refugees who hail from Hwanghae province in North Korea.
“I lengthy to step on the land of my hometown, the place my mom rests,” reads a sculpture erected on the island in remembrance of the households separated by the Korean struggle.
For such causes, resident Jung stated he harboured no private grudge towards North Koreans, regardless of having his home destroyed by Pyongyang’s shells.
“Even now, I really feel compassion in the direction of the North Korean folks.”
“I even have this willingness to assist them.”
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