Korean peninsula

Hundreds gathered at the national cemetery in the central city of Daejeon to commemorate two Marines and two civilians who were killed last year when the island of Yeonpyeong near the tense Yellow Sea border was shelled.

It was the first attack on an area populated by civilians since the 1950 - 1953 war.

"How could we ever forget this day?" asked South Korean Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik in a speech. "It was a day of atrocity," he told the military commanders, politicians, Marines and victims’ relatives in attendance. He also said that "no compromise" on further provocations would be made.

Waiting for an apology

Meanwhile, on a visit to the Northwest Islands Defense Command, which is responsible for guarding the sea to the west of the Korean peninsula that includes Yeonpyeong, President Lee Myung Bak said he was still waiting for an official apology from Pyongyang for the shelling. "I expect North Korea will some time state its official position for the sake of national reconciliation," he was quoted as saying by the South Korean Yonhap news agency.

Pyongyang, which accuses Seoul of provoking the attack with naval exercises, has expressed "regret" but insists it acted in "self-defense."

In the South Korean capital, dozens of North Korean defectors protested against the authorities in their former homeland. They said Kim Jong-il was "devilish."

On Wednesday afternoon, the South Korean military staged a major land, sea and air exercise near the sea border, which simulated a response to a hypothetical new attack on the "frontline" islands. Last year, the military had come under criticism for its perceived slow and week response to the shelling. It said it would hit back hard in the event of a fresh attack and would use artillery and air power.

Author: Anne Thomas (dpa, AFP)
Editor: Shamil Shams