SOUTH KOREA HAS held military exercises using live fire on Yeonpyeong island – the site of a deadly North Korean attack just weeks ago - risking increasing tension between the two countries.

North Korea shelled Yeonpyeong island in response to a similar drills on 23 November. Two civilians and two marines were killed.

The BBC reports that Pyongyang has called the latest exercise, which lasted about two hours, a “reckless military provocation” but said that it will not engage in an armed dispute.

Yeonpyeong island is about seven miles from North Korea’s western shore, and it considers the island part of its territory.

China has urged both sides to refrain from conflict. A foreign minsitry official Cui Tiankai told the BBC:

Whatever the differences and disputes relevant parties may have, they can only be addressed through dialogue and negotiation rather than by conflict or war.

Diplomatic efforts by the UN Security Council over the weekend failed to end in agreement.

Susan Rice, the United States ambassador, said the US and other council members demanded the council condemn North Korea for the two deadly attacks this year, The Guardian reports.