South Korea has evacuated island residents after exchanging artillery shellfire with North Korea.

The two countries fired shells into each other’s waters, leading to residents in five front-line South Korean islands being evacuated to shelters.

No shells were fired at land or military installations.

The flare-up came after Pyongyang announced that it would conduct live-fire drills in the Yellow Sea border between the two nations.

North Korea made the announcement in response to what it claims are threatening military drills being carried out in the South by US forces.

Pyongyang fired more than 500 rounds today, with 100 landing in the disputed maritime border off the west coast of the peninsula, South Korea said.

The South returned fire with around 300 rounds.

The dispute has caused fears in Seoul of a repeat of last year’s rhetoric, where Pyongyang threatened nuclear strikes on Washington and Seoul after international condemnation of its third nuclear test.

Kim Jong-Un has threatened a ‘new form’ of nuclear power tests, and an unusual warning was sent to South Korea by fax about the planned live-fire drill.

Residents of five front-line South Korean islands have been sent to shelters, and ferries linking the islands to the mainland was stopped.

The North has recently conducted a series of rocket and ballistic missile launches that are considered acts of protest against annual ongoing springtime military exercises by Seoul and Washington.

The western sea boundary has been the scene of several bloody naval skirmishes between the Koreas in recent years, including a 2010 artillery attack on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong which killed four people.

Pyongyang has also threatened to conduct a fourth nuclear test at some point, though Seoul says there are no signs of an imminent detonation.

Wee Yong-sub, a deputy spokesman at the South Korean Defense Ministry, said the North Korean warning about the live-fire drills Monday was a “hostile” attempt to heighten tension on the Korean Peninsula.

The North has gradually dialled down its threats and sought improved ties with South Korea in what foreign analysts say is an attempt to lure international investment and aid.

However, there has been no major breakthrough in the North’s reported push to win outside aid, and Washington and Seoul have continued their calls for North Korea to disarm.

•Credit (except amended headline): Daily Express of London.

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