Nuclear-armed North Korea fired artillery shells into South Korea onTuesday, killing two marines and injuring civilians, andsetting off widespread alarm in one of the worst attacks since theKorean War.
The attack drew worldwide condemnation, includingfrom U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, and placed South Korea on highmilitary alert.
South Korean troops retaliated with cannon fireand sent jet fighters to the area, close to a disputed maritime borderon the west of the divided Korean peninsula and the scene of deadlyclashes between the two rivals in the past.
Seoul warned North Korea of "enormous retaliation" if it tookmore aggressive steps.
South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak'sgovernment met in an underground war room in response to what it calledan atrocity against civilians.
Three civilians and 17 South Korean soldiers were wounded in the attack on Yeonpyeong Island,just 120 km (75 miles) west of Seoul.
News of the attack shook financial markets across the globe, already unsettled by Ireland's debt woes.
NorthKorea's supreme command, however, accused South Korea of firing firstand vowed "merciless military attacks with no hesitation if the SouthKorean enemy dares to invade our sea territory..."
South Korea was conducting military drills in the area at the time but said it had not been firing at the North.
Technically at war
The two Koreas are still technically at war—the Korean War endedonly with a truce—and tension rose sharply early this year after Seoulaccused the North of torpedoing one of its navy vessels, killing 46sailors.
But condemnation of Pyongyang poured in from the UnitedStates, which has 28,500 troops in South Korea, along with Russia,Japan, and Western Europe.
The U.N. Security Council, which has imposedheavy economic sanctions for previous North Korean nuclear and missiletests, was expected to meet in a couple of days, a French diplomat said.
Washington said it was too early to consider any military responseto the North Korean strike but said it was "firmly committed to the defense" ofSouth Korea.
"At this point it's premature to say that we're considering any action," Pentagon spokesman Colonel Dave Lapan told reporters.
President Barack Obama was awakened before dawn with the news andthe White House demanded Pyongyang respect an Armistice agreement thatended the 1950-53 Korean war.
Coordinated response
Obama is to speak by telephone with President Lee, as U.S. and South Korean defense chiefs agreed to "coordinate" any response to the attack.
U.S. envoy on North Korea Stephen Bosworth, who was in Beijing, saidthe United States and China agreed on the need for restraint, after hediscussed the incident with Chinese officials.
China—North Korea's sole major ally and source of economic aid—alsocalled for the resumption of stalled six-nation talks aimed atdismantling Pyongyang's nuclear drive.
The North Korean assaultcame amid tensions over Pyongyang's claim that it has a new uraniumenrichment facility and just six weeks after North Korean leader KimJong Il unveiled his youngest son, Kim Jong Un, as his heir apparent.
Washingtonhad said it was studying the evidence a group of visiting Americanscientists used to conclude the North was building the enrichmentfacility, which presumably could be used to produce fuel for nuclearweapons.
Inter-Korean talks shelved
Yeonpyeong lies just south of the border established by U.N. forcesafter the war, but north of the sea border claimed by Pyongyang.
Inter-Koreantalks scheduled for Thursday, aimed at arranging further reunions offamilies separated by the war, were shelved, Seoul's unificationministry said.
RussianForeign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned of "colossal danger" from the new Koreantensions.
"This could degenerate into military actions," he said.
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan ordered his government to prepare for any eventuality.
Reported by Radio Free Asia's Korean Service with contributions from news agencies. Written by Parameswaran Ponnudurai.