Pyongyang threatens Seoul over planned military drills

South Korean Marines on Monday plan to conduct a large-scale sea firing exercise for the second time this year around western islands including Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong.

North Korea threatened in response Sunday "merciless strikes" in retaliation, adding that South Korean islanders should escape to a safety zone."

The South Korean Marines will mobilize a number of weapons such as K-9 self-propelled artillery, 20-millimeter Vulcan automatic cannons, and 81-millimeter trench mortar. Cobra helicopters on Baengnyeong Island, which are geared toward destroying North Korean hovercraft, will also join the drill.

The Marines are known to plan the firing of several thousands of shells to the southeastern sea area of Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong, located in southern part of the Northern Limit Line, the sea border between the Koreas. A high-ranking Marine official said the exercise is what South Korea has been doing regularly since 2010, when the North fired shells on Yeonpyeong Island.

In the initial five days of the drill starting Monday, a joint submarine exercise is planned with the U.S. and the combined exercise Key-Resolve will begin a week later.

In reaction to this, Pyongyang warned in an official announcement Sunday of "firing back mercilessly" if it sees a single spot affected in its seas by the shelling.

In addition, the North Korean military said, "Civilians living in the related islands of South Korea should escape to a safety zone before 9 a.m. Monday, when the exercise starts."

The North added that the Lee Myung-bak administration of South Korea should not forget the lessons the country took in 2010, when North Korea shelled Yeonpyeong. Pyongyang fired shells at South Korean sea areas in August 2010 when South Korean Marines conducted a firing exercise.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul informed of the exercise to residents of related islands and the South Korean National Oceanographic Research Institute. The institute also issued a navigational warning to ships that pass the military exercise area.

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