North Korea on Friday continued its campaign of denial over the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island last month that killed two civilians and two soldiers by hauling soldiers on state TV to offer their fanciful version of the attack.
| Nobody does political theater like the Norks ... |
The soldiers, who were understood to have taken part in the artillery operations, gave their accounts on a talk show on [North] Korean Central TV on the 19th anniversary of leader Kim Jong-il becoming the supreme commander.
"Fire burned in our eyes when we saw [South Korean] artillery shells fall into our territorial waters," one was moved to claim. "We poured our merciless thunderbolt of revenge on them. When we saw the first shell hit the enemy's radar post and several pillars of fire soar there, shouts of 'Hurrah' celebrated our victory."
| Not bad. 'merciless thunderbolt' is a nice touch. I was getting tired of 'sea of fire' anyway ... |
The official North Korean version is that it was provoked by South Korean artillery fire. In fact, the South had been lobbing shells into waters south of the island as part of routine drills that have been held for 37 years.
"We clearly demonstrated that our earlier pledge to attack it was no empty talk and launched the attack without an ounce of mercy," another soldier said.
Their names and ranks were not given.
| So that they disappear more easily ... |
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