Daejeon: The Marine Corps on Sunday held a ceremony to mark the anniversary of North Korea's 2010 shelling of a border island that killed two soldiers and two civilians. The ceremony was held at Daejeon National Cemetery in Daejeon, some 140 kilometers southeast of Seoul, with the attendance of family members of the two Marines -- S. Sgt. Seo Jeong-u and L. Cpl. Mun Gwang-uk -- Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back and Marine Corps Commandant Ju Il-suk.

According to Yonhap News Agency, "The Marine Corps will not forget the spirit of a soldier's devotion to a nation that was demonstrated by the war heroes and fulfill its mission for the peace and freedom of the Republic of Korea," Ju said in a commemorative speech. North Korea's artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island on Nov. 23, 2010, prompted return fire from Marines stationed there and left two soldiers and two civilians dead.

Seo died while returning to his unit after heading for a pier to leave on his final vacation before his discharge. Mun was killed while preparing for battle about a month after being transferred to the Yeonpyeong unit.

Later Sunday, the ruling Democratic Party (DP) released a statement expressing its regret over the absence of North Korea's apology. "We will not accept armed provocations by North Korea under any circumstance and will respond to them sternly," DP spokesperson Park Ji-hye said. "The Democratic Party will achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula on the foundation of a strong security posture, and we will not waver on our path toward pragmatic diplomacy that can turn peace on the peninsula into reality."

The shelling marked the North's first attack on a civilian area in the South since the 1950-53 Korean War.