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 South Korean marines lock the entrance to a beach on Yeonpyeong island, near the 'northern limit line' sea boundary with North Korea on Jan. 8, 2024.    © AFP/Jiji
Asia Insight

South Korean flashpoint island frets as war whispers grow louder

Kim Jong Un's weapons development sprint creates new level of threat, locals say

STEVEN BOROWIEC, Nikkei staff writer | South Korea

YEONPYEONG ISLAND, South Korea -- Kim Young-shik's life is more dangerous now than at any time he can recall living through on this island a few kilometers from North Korea.

Kim, 73, was present for the previous flare-ups around the Yellow Sea island, called Yeonpyeong, including a 2010 shelling by North Korea in which four people were killed. Tensions have been running high on Yeonpyeong since early January, when the North and South Korean militaries exchanged artillery fire in nearby waters.

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