Population 1,780 | Region Sudogwon Area 7.29 km² | |
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Yeonpyeong Island or Yeonpyeongdo (hanja: 延坪島) ([jʌnpçʌŋdo]) (referred to by the DPRK as Yŏnphyŏng Islet) is a group of South Korean islands in the Yellow Sea, located about 80 km (50 mi) west of Incheon and 12 km (7.5 mi) south of the coast of Hwanghae Province, North Korea. The main island of the group is Daeyeonpyeongdo ("Big Yeonpyeong Island"), also referred to simply as Yeonpyeong Island, with an area of 7.01 km2 (2.71 sq mi) and a population of around 1,300.
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Map of Yeonpyeong Island, Yeonpyeong-myeon, Incheon
The principal population centre is Yeonpyeong-ri, where the island's ferry port is located. The other inhabited island is Soyeonpyeongdo ("Small Yeonpyeong Island") with a small population and an area of 0.24 km2 (0.093 sq mi). Several other small islands comprise the rest of the group.
The island group constitutes Yeonpyeong-myeon, one of the subdivisions of Ongjin County, Incheon, South Korea.
Yeonpyeong Island is known for its crab fishery.
Maritime border disputes
Yeonpyeong lies near the Northern Limit Line (NLL) and is only 12 km (7.5 mi) from the North Korean coastline. The 1953 Armistice Agreement which ended the Korean War specified that five island groups, including Yeonpyeong, would remain under South Korean control. North Korea subsequently respected the UN-acknowledged western maritime border for many years until around the mid-1990s.
However, since the 1990s North Korea has disputed the NLL. The North Korean government claims a border farther south that encompasses valuable fishing grounds (though it skirts around South Korean-held islands such as Yeonpyeong). North Korea's claim is not accepted internationally.
2010 bombardment
On November 23, 2010, North Korean artillery shelled Yeonpyeong with dozens of rounds at Yeonpyeong-ri and the surrounding area. This shelling followed a Southern military exercise in the area. The South returned fire with 155 mm (6 in) K-9 self-propelled howitzers. The shelling damaged dozens of houses as well as Southern military infrastructure and set buildings on fire. Two South Korean Marines and two civilians were killed in the shelling, with eighteen others wounded.
Accounts of the billowing smoke were reported in Korean and international newspapers; and thick columns of black smoke rising from the island were the primary proof that the attack had occurred. South Koreans watching television saw the smoke rising from the island after it was hit.