South Korea calls North’s attack inhumane

South Korean President, Lee Myung-bak has described North Korea’s deadly attack on a Southern island on Tuesday as an inhumane crime.



Lee says he feels responsible for failing to protect residents of Yeonpyeong Island, where four South Koreans were killed.



Pyongyang says it was provoked by Seoul's military drill near Yeonpyeong.



Tension remains high in the area, where the US and South Korea are currently holding joint military exercises.



The North has described the four-day drill in the Yellow Sea, near the disputed border between the two Koreas, as a provocation.



Lee has promised that Pyongyang will pay the price if it continues to provoke South Korea although he did not say how South Korea will respond.



Lee's government has been criticised by opposition lawmakers and members of his party who say the military response to North Korea’s shelling was too soft and slow.



The president's comments come a day after China called for an emergency meeting of key nations to try to defuse the tension.