its territorial waters. South Korean forces went ahead with a live-fire exercise in waters off Baengnyeong Island and Yeonpyeong Island within South Korean-held territory. According to a South Korean military official, shells fired as part of the exercise were directed at waters in the south, away from North Korea. A Marine colonel on the island indicated the shells had been fired towards the southwest. South Korean Minister of National Defense, Kim Tae-young, said the firing was not part of the Hoguk exercise, but was a separate routine monthly drill carried out 4–5 km away from the NLL, contrary to previous media reports. The usual firing range is by in size and runs parallel to the NLL to the south-west of Yeonpyeong Island, and is largely within North Korea's territorial waters claimed in 1955. At 14:34 local time, North Korean coastal artillery batteries on Mudo, and a recently redeployed 122-mm MRL at Kaemori, in North Korea's South Hwanghae Province, opened fire on the island of Yeonpyeong. The bombardment took place in two waves, from 14:34 to 14:55 and again from 15:10 to 15:41. Many of the shells landed on a military camp, but others hit the island's principal settlement, destroying numerous homes and shops, and starting fires. About 108 shells were fired total, according to a North Korean defector who had served in an artillery battery. Three of the six K9 Thunder 155mm guns stationed on Yeonpyong returned fire, while two were damaged and one blocked by a dud shell. South Korean artillery fired 80 shells in total. Initially, the South Koreans targeted barracks and command structures on Mudo, but began firing at the MRL at Kaemori about thirteen minutes later, due to the AN/TPQ-37 counter-battery radar not properly functioning, which meant the guns initially targeted general locations, such as the barracks. South Korean KF-16 and F-15K jets were also scrambled to the area, though they did not engage North Korean targets, as the North Korean artillery did not start a third barrage. South Korean counterstrikes ended at 16:42. It was the first artillery battle to take place between North and South Korea since the 1970s and was seen as one of the most serious attacks by the North on the South since the 1953 Armistice. With power on Yeonpyeong knocked out and several fires breaking out as a result of the North Korean shelling, the South Korean military ordered civilians