The Democratic People' s Republic of Korea (DPRK) Thursday warned of a second Yonphyong Island shelling as Seoul prepares commemoration for the 2010 shelling, the official news agency KCNA reported.

"The commemoration of the so-called victorious battle on Yonphyong Island will lead to the second Yonphyong Island disaster as long as the Korean People's Army is standing firm guard over the socialist homeland," a spokesperson for the army's southwestern front command was quoted by the KCNA as saying.

"It is the steadfast will of the service personnel not to miss the opportunity to do so if the warmongers perpetrate another provocation," said the spokesperson, accusing Seoul of sparking off a new war in the area.

South Korea has earlier announced a plan to hold commemorative events, including a memorial service, a naval firing drill, to commemorate the deaths of two South Korean soldiers and two civilians killed in the Yonphyong Island shelling on Nov. 23, 2010. Both sides accused the other of firing the first shot.

The DPRK said the shelling was a self-defense measure against joint naval exercises between South Korea and the United States near the disputed sea border known as the Northern Limit Line (NLL).

The DPRK refuses to acknowledge the NLL, which was drawn unilaterally by the U.S.-led United Nations Command after the 1950-53 Korean War.

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