Five West Sea Islands (

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

: 西海五島/서해오도) refers to the five islands in the West Sea (

Yellow Sea The Yellow Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula, and can be considered the northwestern part of the East China Sea. It is one of four seas named after common colour terms ...

) administrated by

Incheon Incheon (; ; or Inch'ŏn; literally "kind river"), formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City (인천광역시, 仁川廣域市), is a city located in northwestern South Kore ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. They are

Yeonpyeongdo Yeonpyeong Island or Yeonpyeongdo ( ko, 연평도 ; referred to by North Korea as Yŏnphyŏng Islet) is a group of South Korean islands in the Yellow Sea, located about west of Incheon and south of the coast of Hwanghae Province, North Korea. ...

Baengnyeongdo Baengnyeong Island (sometimes spelled Baekryeong; ) is a , long and wide island in Ongjin County, Incheon, South Korea, located near the Northern Limit Line. The 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement which ended the Korean War specified that the fiv ...

Daecheongdo Daecheong Island or Daecheongdo ( ko, 대청도 "big blue island" ) is a , long and wide island in Ongjin County, Incheon, South Korea, near the Northern Limit Line. The 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement which ended the Korean War specified th ...

, Socheongdo and Soyeonpyeongdo. Their positions are much closer to

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

as these islands are originally part of

Hwanghae Province Hwanghae Province (''Hwanghae-do'' ) was one of the Eight Provinces of Korea during the Joseon era. Hwanghae was located in the northwest of Korea. The provincial capital was Haeju. The regional name for the province was Haeseo. History In 139 ...

and their sovereignties are claimed by North Korea, but they are since then, controlled by South Korea since the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

forces established the

Northern Limit Line The Northern Limit Line or North Limit Line (NLL) – 북방한계선 (in ROK) – is a disputed maritime demarcation line in the Yellow (West) Sea between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on the north, and the Republic of Ko ...

(NLL) north of the islands in 1953 following the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

.South Korea deviated from previous rules of engagement in West Sea clash
/ref>

References

{{coord, 37.69012, 126.32841, region:KR_type:isle, display=title Islands of the Yellow Sea Islands of Incheon Ongjin County, Incheon Territorial disputes of North Korea Territorial disputes of South Korea North Korea–South Korea border North Korea–South Korea relations