North Korea launched artillery fire at a South Korean island on Tuesday, injuring four soldiers and provoking a retaliatory attack from the South, Seoul’s YTN television reported.
An eyewitness told the TV station that some 60 to 70 houses were ablaze on the Yeonpyeong island in the Yellow Sea. The island, which is off the countries’ west coast, is populated by some 1,200 people.
A spokesman for South Korea's joint chief of staff said "scores of rounds" were fired by the North.
The incident is the second in the tense Yellow Sea border area this year. In March, a North Korean submarine was alleged to have torpedoed a South Korean warship. The North denied the allegations.
The latest attack comes after the revelation that the North has created a new uranium enrichment facility.
MOSCOW, November 23 (RIA Novosti)