North Korea artillery lands near South island in disputed waters (Reuters)

SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea has fired artillery in the direction of a South Korean island on Wednesday in an apparent training exercise near a tense maritime border off the west coast, media and a government official said.

A South Korean Defense Ministry official said shells fired by North Korea landed in the waters off Yeonpyeong island but it was not clear whether it was inside the South's territorial waters. Yonhap news agency said South Korea fired back with its artillery.

"Three shots were heard. One shell landed near the Northern Limit Line," Yonhap quoted a military official as saying.

The incident took place near the disputed Northern Limit Line (NLL), the scene of several skirmishes over the past decade including two deadly attacks last year that killed 50 South Koreans.

Yonhap said the shelling started at around 2pm local time (0500 GMT). South Korea replied with three rounds artillery fire.

Fishing boats in the vicinity called to port and yeonpyeong residents have been evacuated into emergency shelters, media reports said.

Markets barely reacted to the incident.

Tuesday's flare-up occurred near Yeonpyeong island, which was attacked by the North last November. Four people were killed in the attack.

Previous incidents triggered by the North's violation of the NLL, unilaterally drawn up by the U.S. military at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, have led to clashes by the two sides' navies killing dozens of sailors.

Tensions had eased since the start of the year since the North's renewed calls for dialogue, including the resumption of six-way talks aimed at ending Pyongyang's nuclear arms program.

(Reporting by Ju-min Park and Jack Kim; editing by Jeremy Laurence and David Chance)

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