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N. Korea building military facility on uninhabited island near maritime border

N. Korea building military facility on uninhabited island near maritime border

Posted April. 23, 2015 07:23,   

한국어

The South Korean military has confirmed Wednesday that North Korea is building military facilities on an uninhabited island off the west coast near the South`s frontline island of Yeonpyeong. Seoul`s military authorities believe that the facilities are likely to be a coastal or long-range artillery position or an anti-South observation post.

According to a South Korean military source, the North is mobilizing military personnel and equipment to dig ground on Gal Island, about 2.5 kilometers north of the Northern Limit Line (NLL), a de-facto sea border between the two Koreas. The island is about 4.5 kilometers from Yeonpyeong Island, the South`s northernmost island off the west coast, and 2.4 kilometers south of Jangjae Island, where the North launched an artillery attack on Yeonpyeong in 2010.

"As ground has been just broken on the facility, it is unclear exactly what it will be for," the source said. "It is highly likely that the North is building an coastal or long-range artillery position or an observation facility for monitoring the South Korean military`s movement." The South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities are conducting intensive surveillance on the construction site by using satellites and drones, the source said.

If North Korean artillery forces are deployed on Gal Island, it will likely be the North`s strike closest to the South`s northwestern frontline islands in the Yellow Sea. Currently, a North Korean attack base close to the islands is Jangjae Island, about 8 kilometers away from Yeonpyeong. The distance between Gal and Yeonpyeong Islands is just half of that between Jangjae and Yeonpyeong.

"There is a high possibility that North Korea will try to strengthen its capabilities for launching a surprise attack on Yeonpyeong by set up a coastal artillery base on Gal Island or carry out close surveillance on the South Korean military`s movement on Yeonpyeong Island," another South Korean military source noted. Seoul`s military believes that the ongoing construction work on Gal Island is also part of Pyongyang`s measures to beef up its capabilities for launch a surprise attack on the frontline islands.

Separately, the South Korean Navy is said to have concluded that a North Korean patrol boat`s violation of the NLL for an engine malfunction early Wednesday was a "deceptive tactics" aimed at checking the South Korean military`s response posture.



ysh1005@donga.com