North Korea held a ceremony in Gangryeong County, South Hwanghae Province over the weekend to mark the third anniversary of the shelling of South Korea’s Yeonpyeong Island, Chosun Central Television conveyed yesterday. In state propaganda, the North Korean authorities call the Yeonpyeong Island attack a heroic victory by the soldiers of the Chosun People's Army, even though it resulted in the deaths of two civilians in addition to two soldiers.

In addition to various military personnel and citizens of Gangryeong County, the service on November 23rd was attended by the commander of the 4th Corps of the Chosun People's Army, Ri Song Guk, South Hwanghae Province Party Secretary Pak Yong Ho and South Hwanghae Province People’s Committee Chairman Choe Jong Ryong, it was reported.

This is first time Ri Song Guk has been publicly named as the commanding officer of the 4th Corps, which is stationed in the regional port city of Haeju and was directly responsible for carrying out the Yeonpyeong Island shelling.

Ri criticized South Korea in his public address, saying, “Instead of learning a lesson from their disgraceful, crushing defeat in the Yeonpyeong Island live fire attack, they went crazy in trying to militarily choke our Fatherland.”

"Yeonpyeong Island is now synonymous with the victory of military-first Chosun,” the piece emphasized.

North Korea has held yearly victory ceremonies since the attack. On the second anniversary in 2012, it was decreed that if "so much as a spark” were to land on North Korean soil, the enemy would be “mopped up like they were on that day two years ago."