Two South Korean Marines Killed and Houses Ablaze

Two South Korean marines were killed and 13 people injured after North Korea fired 200 artillery rounds onto a populated island near the countries' western border today.

South Korea scrambled F-16 fighter jets and returned fire in response to the incident on its island of Yeonpyeong. At least two civilians are among those wounded.

The shelling has prompted global condemnation of North Korea, with a White House spokesman saying: 'The United States strongly condemns this attack and calls on North Korea to halt its belligerent action.

'The United States is firmly committed to the defence of our ally, the Republic of Korea, and to the maintenance of regional peace and stability.'

Britain also joined the condemnation, with Foreign Secretary William Hague urging Pyongyang to refrain from further attacks, which he described as 'unprovoked'.

Mr Hague said: 'The UK strongly condemns North Korea's unprovoked attack on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong Island.

'Such unprovoked attacks will only lead to further tensions on the Korean Peninsula. We strongly urge North Korea to refrain from such attacks and adhere to the Korean Armistice agreement.

'I welcome (South Korean) president Lee Myung-bak's call for restraint.'

The attack came amid tension over North Korea's claim that it has a new uranium enrichment facility and shortly after the leader of the secretive Communist state, Kim Jong-il, named his youngest son Kim Jong-un as his heir.

The succession announcement prompted fears about the stability of the region which look to have been justified in light of the attack.

Several houses are on fire with one witness describing the blazes as 'out of control' in what is being described as the heaviest bombardment since the 1950-53 Korean War.

Television pictures showed thick smoke rising from the island, where between 1,200 and 1,300 people live.

Lee Jong-Sik, a resident on the island, told the YTN TV channel: 'At least ten houses are burning. I can't see clearly for the smoke. The hillsides are also on fire.

'We were told by loudspeakers to flee our homes.'

South Korea has issued its highest non-wartime alert in response, while North Korea has yet to comment on the incident.

The attack comes amid tension over North Korea's claim that it has a new uranium enrichment facility potentially giving it a second route to a nuclear weapon.

South Korean presidential spokesman Kim Hee-jung said it was investigating a possible link between the artillery attack and maritime exercises near the western sea border earlier today.

Officials for the South said artillery rounds began landing on Yeonpyeong island shortly after 5.30am GMT.

The defence ministry said: 'A North Korean artillery unit staged an illegal firing provocation at 2.34pm and South Korean troops fired back immediately in self-defence.'

The countries' western maritime boundary has long been a flashpoint between the two countries.

The North does not recognise the border that was unilaterally drawn by the United Nations at the close of the 1950-53 Korean War.

It was close to there in April that the Cheonan, a South Korean naval corvette, was sunk in what appears to have been a North Korean attack, with the loss of 46 lives.

Three times before, in the past decade, there have been naval battles between North and South off Yeonpyeong Island – often in June during the peak fishing season for blue crab, when North Korean commercial boats sometimes flout the boundary in search of better fishing grounds.

North and South Korea have fought three bloody skirmishes near the maritime border in recent years, most recently in November 2009.

South Korea's YTN television said five people were injured, several houses were on fire and shells were still falling on Yeonpyeong island.

Yonhap news agency said three soldiers were wounded. Shadow foreign secretary Yvette Cooper said: 'I completely condemn North Korea's aggression and the loss of life from this attack.

'While North Korea continues to act like an international outsider, all other countries must stand together to show its behaviour is unacceptable.

'North Korea is in clear breach of UN Security Council resolutions as it continues to test missiles and to enrich uranium.

'Rather than putting the needs of its people first and joining the international mainstream, its actions indicate it would rather face further isolation and tougher sanctions.'