North Korea Fires Artillery Ahead of South’s Military Drills

In a show of force, the North Korean military fired 20 shells across from the island it attacked earlier this week.

The barrage didn’t hit any South Korean targets, but residents of Yeonpyeong Island rushed to fallout shelters as they heard the artillery rounds go off. The military exercise came as the South prepares for joint naval drills with the U.S. this weekend, which are intended to force Pyongyang to back down. Tensions on the peninsula have been high since the North shelled Yeonpyeong on Tuesday in the first direct attack on South Korean soil since 1953, killing four people. North Korea’s official news agency said the naval drills were pushing the peninsula “to the brink of war” and threatened a “"shower of dreadful fire” if Pyongyang is provoked.