Early Edition:Naval Exercises To Continue

Naval exercises in the Yellow Sea off the Korean peninsula by South Korean and U.S. forces will proceed in spite of North Korea's violent outburst Tuesday.The aircraft carrier USS George Washington(CVN 73) left its homeport in Japan as scheduled on Tuesday and will join the maneuvers shortly.
North Korea had opened fire with K-9 155mm Howitzers on Yeongpyeong Island in the Yellow Sea,7 miles off the coast of South Korea,killing 2 South Korean Marines and injuring 3 civilians and 16 military personnel.The attack lasted about an hour.
Fires from the barrages were still burning at nightfall.Thousands of civilians were being evacuated from a chain of 31 islands.South Korea had responded to the aggression with barrages of its own.The Pentagon said it had no plans to attack the north,and U.S. forces were not put on alert.
In March,a North Korean submarine sank the South Korean warship Cheonan in the same area,killing 46 South Korean sailors.The north doesn't recognize the western maritime border established by the U.N. in 1953,at the truce of the Korean War,which was never formally ended.Several clashes have occurred over the disputed maritime border and along the Demilitarized Zone on land.
President Barrack Obama was awakened at 3:55 am and told of the incident,which he later condemned.North Korea is in the midst of a transition of power from Kim Jung Il to his son Kim Jong Un,who was recently made a four star general,and many observers see the attack as the son's baptism of fire,gaining him credibility with North Korea's powerful army.
The USS George Washington carries about 80 aircraft.Powered by two nuclear reactors,it can cruise at 30+ knots.Around 28,000 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea.
Update:The bodies of two construction workers were found buried in the rubble left by North Korea's artillery barrage on Tuesday,raising the death toll to four.The USS George Washington and her carrier battle group should arrive on scene by Sunday to conduct four days of naval exercises with South Korea.North Korea has threatened more attacks if the exercises violate even a millimeter of its perceived territory.
An angry protest against the North Korean aggression took place in Seoul,South Korea.
Update 2:South Korea has reinforced Yeongpyeong Island and other islands nearby with 4,000 more of its marines.General Walter Sharp,commander of U.S. forces in Korea,has toured the devastated island,describing North Korea's attack as being in clear violation of the armistice agreement of 1953.South Korean veterans bitterly criticized the government's response to the aggression,considering it weak and slow.Fire was not returned for 13 minutes.
U.S. and South Korean naval exercises will begin in the Yellow Sea around noon on Sunday,a U.S. Navy spokesman said.They will not be live fire exercises because they are being held in a high traffic area.The maneuvers were planned in advance of the North Korean attack.