South Korean spies had warned of attack on island

South Korean spies had information in August indicating that North Korea might attack a frontline island, but the intelligence chief dismissed it as a routine threat.

Yeonpyeong Island, close to the disputed maritime border, endured a barrage of North Korean shells last week.

In the wake of the attack – in which two marines and two civilians died – the Defence Minister resigned. President Lee Myung-bak has been criticised for leading a military whose response was seen as too slow and too weak: the North fired 170 rounds, the South 80.