South Korea holds live-fire drill after North's shelling near islands

Tensions between both sides spike following exchanges of harsh words

20240105 Yeonpyeong Island,

Residents of the sleepy South Korean island of Yeonpyeong, near the maritime border with the North, were told to evacuate after shells were fired close to it. © Getty Images

STEVEN BOROWIEC, Nikkei staff writer

SEOUL -- South Korea carried out a live-fire exercise in response to what it called a "provocation" after shelling by the North spurred evacuation of two frontline South Korean islands in the Yellow Sea on Friday.

The shelling and the South's forceful response are an escalation of tensions between the two Koreas whose leaders have traded harsh words lately.

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