1Berita – South Korea abruptly urged residents living on Yeonpyeong Island, an area bordering North Korea, to evacuate today, Friday (5/1).

The news about the evacuation order was released twice, at 12:02 local time and at 12:30 local time, after North Korea was reported to have fired at least 200 artillery rounds towards the coast near Yeonpyeong Island.

“We announced the evacuation after receiving a call from a military unit stating that they were conducting a maritime attack on Yeongpyeong Island due to a situation related to North Korea’s provocation,” said an official, as reported by South Korean news agency Yonhap on Friday (5/1).

This evacuation order comes as North Korea continues to provoke war. In his recent speech, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called on the military to prepare for war and boost their nuclear program.

Pyongyang is preparing for war as its relations with Seoul are strained due to South Korea’s persistent military exercises with the United States and the launch of a North Korean spy satellite in November.

Seoul was angered by the launch and decided to partially suspend the 2018 military agreement between the two Koreas. The agreement aimed to ease tensions between the two countries.

North Korea rejected this move, leading Pyongyang to fully cancel their agreement.

Much earlier, the relationship between the two Koreas had reached a boiling point in 2010.

At that time, Yeonpyeong Island in South Korea was attacked by a series of artillery shells fired from North Korea.

The local government immediately issued an emergency evacuation order for 1,700 local residents.

This was due to a power outage that paralyzed the telecommunication system. Moreover, many houses were destroyed and caught fire as a result of the explosions.