One South Korean military man died, 13 more are wounded as a result of bombardment of South Korean island by artillery of Democratic People's Republic of Korea. It was declared by Military department of South Korea. It is informed that population of the island living close to sea border was evacuated. South Korean artillery brought down return fire in the territory of the North Korea. By the present moment firing has stopped.
There were about 200 shells launched across the island with population little more than 1000 people. Local residents are evacuated in shelters. Supply of electricity stopped. The highest level of danger is declared all over the country. As a result of artillery shelling from 60 to 70 apartment houses appeared on fire. Deliver of fire is done from cannonry placed along a coastal line of North Korea.
Emergency meeting with participation of the president of South Korea Lee Myung-bak took place in Seoul. They have already stated an opinion in the executive personnel of South Korea that bombardment could become the answer of North Korea to military training exercise passing in the south. On Monday South Korea and the USA began next joint maneuvers "Yichi Freedom Guardian" in the south of the Korean peninsula. Relating to annual trainings, Democratic People's Republic of Korea threatened with "the worst military punishment". Regarding them as real military threat, Pyongyang considers these and other maneuvers of the USA and South Korea as actions directed on preparation of full-scale military aggression.
China urged both parties not to admit conflict escalation. Beijing also supported renewal of negotiations on the nuclear program of Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Bombardment occurred few days after it became known about construction of new factory on uranium enrichment in North Korea.
Scientist Siegfried Hecker working at Stanford University told in interview to journalists of the newspaper New York Times that last week during his visit to Democratic People's Republic of Korea he was shown huge factory where hundreds centrifuges for uranium enrichment were established. Uranium which passed processing in centrifuges, according to Hecker, can be used for production of nuclear weapon. He added that he was stunned by high level of hardware of the enterprise.
Total quantity of personnel military men of the army of Democratic People's Republic of Korea makes, by different estimations, from 850 to 1200 thousand people. About 4 million people are in reserve. Quantity of armed forces of South Korea - 687 000 people, reserve forces estimates 4 500 000. Thus war on the Korean peninsula on scale can become comparable to the largest wars in history.
- Probability of development of the Intrakorean conflict into the world conflict as there's around the most densely populated and most industrially developed region of a planet, naturally, with the most powerful armies of the world is high, - editor-in-chief of FORUM.msk Anatoly Baranov considers. - Military forces of the USA connected by contracts with South Korea will be inevitably involved into the conflict in case of the development of confrontation, first of it refers to the fleet that will balance chances on nuclear weapon. Joining of the conflict by China is the same way inevitable but already on the opposite side, Japan and Russia though without direct participation in the conflict of military formations at least at the first stage will also have to participate. Half a century ago the Korean war has hardly outgrown in the third world war - today there's one more chance.
