Artillery exchange between North, South Korea

Incheon (AP):

North and South Korea exchanged artillery fire yesterday along their disputed frontier, raising tensions between the rivals to their highest level in more than a decade. The communist nation warned of more military strikes if the South encroaches on the maritime border by "even 0.001 millimetre".

Angry at South Korea's refusal to halt military drills near their sea border, North Korea shelled the island of Yeonpyeong, and Seoul responded by unleashing its own barrage from K-9 155mm self-propelled howitzers and scrambling fighter jets. Two South Korean marines were killed in the shelling that also injured 15 troops and three civilians.

Officials in Seoul said there could be considerable North Korean casualties.

Hourlong confrontation

The confrontation lasted about an hour and left the uneasiest of calms, with each side threatening further bombardments.

North Korea's apparent progress in its nuclear weapons programme and its preparations for handing power to a new generation have plunged relations on the heavily militarised peninsula to new lows in recent weeks.

South Korea's military was put on high alert after the shelling, one of the rivals' most dramatic confrontations since an armistice halted the Korean War in 1953 and one of the few to put civilians at risk.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned North Korea's artillery attack, calling it "one of the gravest incidents since the end of the Korean War", his spokesman Martin Nesirky said.

Ban called for "immediate restraint" and insisted "any differences should be resolved by peaceful means and dialogue", the spokesman said.