2010 Yeonpyeong bombardment

Bombardment of Yeonpyeong
	Part of the Korean conflict
	; Yeonpyeong Island under North Korean artillery attack
Date	23 November 2010
Location	Yeonpyeong Island, Ongjin County, Incheon, South Korea
Result	Small number of fatalities and wounded suffered by the Republic of Korea (ROK); ROK civilian evacuation of Yeonpyeong. Tensions increased between the two countries.
Belligerents
North Korea	South Korea
Commanders and leaders
Kim Jong-il; Kim Jong-un; Ri Yong-ho; Col. Kim Kyong Su	Lee Myung-bak; Kim Tae-young
Strength
One battalion BM-21; Five MiG-23	Six K9 Thunder SPGs; Four F-15K; Four KF-16
Casualties and losses
North Korean claim:; None ; South Korean claim:; 5–10 killed and 20–30 wounded (presumed)	2 soldiers killed; 19 soldiers wounded; 2 civilians killed; 3 civilians wounded; Two K9 self-propelled guns damaged

The Bombardment of Yeonpyeong (Korean: 연평도 포격전) was an artillery engagement between the North Korean military and South Korean forces stationed on Yeonpyeong Island on 23 November 2010. Following a South Korean artillery exercise in disputed waters near the island, North Korean forces fired around 170 artillery shells and rockets at Yeonpyeong Island, hitting both military and civilian targets.

Shelling caused widespread damage on Yeonpyeong. South Korea retaliated by shelling North Korean gun positions. In total, between four and 20 people (military personnel and civilians) were killed on both sides and approximately 40–55 people were wounded.

The North Koreans subsequently stated that they had fired in response to South Korean artillery firing into North Korean territorial waters.

The incident caused an escalation of tension on the Korean Peninsula and prompted widespread international condemnation of the North's actions. The United Nations declared it to be one of the most serious incidents since the end of the Korean War, and by 18 December, former US ambassador to the UN Bill Richardson said tensions had escalated to become "the most serious crisis on the Korean peninsula since the 1953 armistice, which ended the Korean War".

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