South Korea conducted live-fire military drills today from five islands near its disputed sea boundary with North Korea, despite Pyongyang’s threat to attack.

North Korea warned today that US-South Korean plans for military manoeuvres put the peninsula on the brink of war, and appeared to launch its own artillery drills within sight of the island it showered with a deadly barrage earlier this week.

SOUTH KOREA exchanged machine gun fire with communist North Korea yesterday in a rare incident that could raise the diplomatic stakes just as Pyongyang appears set to return to talks on its nuclear ambitions.

North Korea today cut off the only regular military contact with the US-led United Nations Command that monitors the Korean War armistice, accusing America of trying to attack the communist state.

NORTH Korea expressed regret for a June 29 naval clash with South Korea and proposed talks aimed at resolving the issue, the South Korean government said yesterday.