2 S.Korean marines dead

SEOUL - TWO South Korean marines were killed on Tuesday when North Korea shelled a border island, the military said.

Announcing the deaths, General Lee Hong-Ki also told a briefing that five marines were seriously hurt in the artillery barrage and 10 suffered minor injuries, while three civilians were hurt.

'It was a pre-planned, intentional and illegal attack in violation of the United Nations ceasefire accord, and an inhumane atrocity that fired random shells towards residential areas of defenceless civilians,' a stern-faced Mr Lee said.

The firing came after North Korea's disclosure of an apparently operational uranium enrichment programme - a second potential way of building a nuclear bomb - which is causing serious alarm for the United States and its allies.

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