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By Yi Whan-woo
Commemorative ceremonies will take place Monday to mark the 10th anniversary of a deadly North Korean attack on the South's western border island of Yeonpyeong.
The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs will host a ceremony at 11 a.m. in the memorial hall on Yeonpyeong Island, in the presence of Minister Park Sam-duck, municipal officials and Marine Corps commanders.
The ceremony will consist of a silent tribute, an offering of flowers, a commemorative speech and an ode to those who lost their lives.
Minister Park will later visit the Marine Corps' Yeonpyeong Unit and also the home of an elderly resident who is also a Korean War veteran.
Also at 11 a.m., the Marine Corps will hold a separate ceremony at Daejeon National Cemetery to honor two marines killed in action.
Situated three kilometers from the disputed maritime border in the Yellow Sea, the island is home to a Marine Corps base and a small civilian population.
Two civilians and two marines were killed while more than a dozen were injured on Nov. 23, 2010, when dozens of artillery shells from North Korea hit the island.
The North said the attack in 2010 was in response to a live-fire exercise that led to shells falling in its territorial waters.
The South said its drills involved marine and naval forces, but did not include live-fire exercises.
