South Korea to make islands near North Korea 'fortresses'

As the government in Seoul struggles to counter the widespread impression its response was too weak and too slow, the new defense minister also ordered his top commanders to retaliate with force if attacked.

President Lee Myung-bak has demanded upgraded rules of engagement to allow the military to respond more forcefully to provocations since the Nov. 23 shelling of Yeonpyeong Island, a tiny enclave of military bases and fishing communities along the Koreas' disputed western sea border. He has also reinforced troops stationed on the island.

The attack - the first since the 1950-53 Korean War to target a civilian area - killed two South Korean marines and two construction workers, and reduced many homes and shops to charred rubble.

The two Koreas remain in a technical state of war because their three-year conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. North Korea disputes the maritime border drawn by U.N. forces in 1953, and considers the waters around the front-line islands its territory.

North Korea said it launched its attack after Seoul refused to stop live-fire drills in the disputed waters. Similar exercises were held around the Korean peninsula Tuesday, though not in the disputed waters.