Lee wants to respond more actively to provocations
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South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on Wednesday ordered the government to consider revising rules of engagement to better respond to provocations, following an exchange of fire a day ago with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
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He also ordered beefing up force on the five northernmost islands in the Yellow Sea to enhance military readiness in case of the DPRK's future provocations, Cheong Wa Dae said.
During the exchange of fires on Tuesday, the DPRK shelled South Korea's Yeongpyeong Island in what Seoul called an "unprovoked attack," killing two marines and two civilians. It also fired artillery shells into waters near the disputed western sea border.
Pyongyang claims Seoul's shells fell in its side of the maritime border before it opened fire.
South Korea was engaged in routine military exercises in the region that mobilized some 70,000 troops.
Earlier in the day, Lee and U.S. President Barak Obama agreed in their telephone conversation to join hands in efforts to respond to the shelling, which they said was a "pre-mediated" provocation.
Lee also talked with Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan over the telephone to discuss the issue, and is scheduled to have telephone conversations with British Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angel Merkel later in the day, according to Cheong Wa Dae.
