Pyeongtaek: South Korea held a ceremony Monday to mark the 24th anniversary of its victorious naval skirmish against North Korea in 2002 in waters off the western border island of Yeonpyeong. The event marking the victory of the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong took place at the Navy's Second Fleet in Pyeongtaek, some 60 kilometers south of Seoul.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the naval battle occurred near the South's frontline island of Yeonpyeong on June 29, 2002, when two North Korean patrol boats crossed the Northern Limit Line, the de facto inter-Korean maritime border, and launched a surprise attack on the South's Chamsuri-357 warship. The clash resulted in six South Korean sailors dead and 19 others injured, while around 30 North Koreans were presumed to have been killed or wounded.

This year, the ceremony was attended by some 300 people, including Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Kim Kyung-ryul, and the bereaved family members of the naval battle. The Navy stated that the memorial event aimed to commemorate the patriotic spirit of the fallen soldiers who sacrificed their lives to protect the country's maritime border against the North's provocations.