South Korea orders evacuations after North fires shells near islands

North Korea fired over 200 artillery shells into the sea near two South Korean islands on Friday, Seoul’s Defense Ministry said, warning that it would respond.

The firing, near a tense maritime border, caused no civilian or military damage, South Korea’s military said.

“This is an act of provocation that escalates tension and threatens peace on the Korean peninsula,” Lee Sung-joon, a
spokesperson for the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, said.

Residents on the islands of Yeonpyeong…