S Korea stages live-fire drill near sea border

SEOUL: South Korean Marines Thursday staged a live-fire artillery drill on an island shelled by North Korea in 2010, the first such exercise since the death of Pyongyang's leader Kim Jong-Il last month.

"Marines are staging drills today" on two frontline islands - Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong, a defence ministry spokesman told.

A similar drill on Yeonpyeong in November 2010 provoked a North Korean artillery barrage which killed two Marines and two civilians and sparked international alarm.

Military officials described Thursday's exercise as routine but declined to give details.

The two-hour firing drills, the first near the disputed Yellow Sea border since Kim's death on December 17, involve K-9 self-propelled guns, Vulcan cannon and other artillery, Yonhap news agency said. (AFP)