BBC Learning English
Words in the News
20
th
December 2010
South Korea holds military drill
Words in the News
© British Broadcasting Corporation 2010
Page 1 of 2
bbclearningenglish.com
South Korea has held a training exercise with guns on Yeonpyeong Island. Four people were
killed on the island last month, by a shell fired from North Korea. Pyongyang has again
warned that the South was pushing the peninsula "to the brink of war". Chris Hogg reports.
South Korea has gone ahead with the military drills on Yeonpyeong Island despite warnings
from China and Russia that they could provoke a confrontation with Pyongyang. For South
Korea, it's a matter of sovereignty.
The military says the drills are on the southern side of the island. The government in Seoul
halted the live-firing exercises when North Korea attacked last month, but doesn't want to
give the impression that Pyongyang can deter it from carrying out defensive manoeuvres
south of the disputed border.
The United States, which carried out joint military exercises with the South at the end of last
month, has defended Seoul's right to stage the drills. South Korea says it has launched fighter
jets to deter any North Korean attacks.
Chris Hogg, BBC News, Beijing
