According to North Korea, the reason for the firing was the heavy firing by its navy.
Korean the already tense situation on the peninsula became even more fiery on Friday, when North Korea fired cannons into the sea areas of the Yeonpyeong island group and Baengnyeong island located on the west coast of South Korea.
According to South Korea, more than 200 artillery shells were fired into the area.
Due to the shooting, the residents of both islands were ordered to evacuate and the ferry service to the islands was cut off.
South Korea later in the day, the marines began military exercises and heavy firefights in Yeonpyeong, Yonhap news agency reported.
According to South Korea's Ministry of Defense, there were no casualties from North Korea's firing. The sparsely populated islands are located just south of the line that serves as the sea border between the Koreas.
Yeonpyeong has a couple thousand inhabitants and Baengnyeong less than five thousand.
North Korea's state-run KCNA news agency said later on Friday that the reason for the firing was the navy's heavy firepower. At the same time, it downplayed the fire, stating that the grenades had “not even an indirect effect” on the islanders.
One on an island of the residents said that they “started shaking with fear” after hearing the thunder of the cannons.
“At first I thought it was fire from our own artillery, but later I heard that it was North Korea,” said a resident of Baengnyeong Island Kim Jin-soo in an interview with the local media.
North Korea has set fire to the area before.
In November 2010, four people were killed when North Korea fired 170 artillery shells at the Yeonpyeong island group. Two of the dead at that time were civilians. It was the first time North Korea attacked a civilian area since the 1950-53 Korean War.
At that time, South Korea responded to the artillery fire with its own artillery.
Inter-Korean relations have sunk to rock bottom since the leader of North Korea Kim Jong-un ended last year by threatening South Korea with a nuclear attack.
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