South Korea will commemorate next week the fifth anniversary of the deadly shelling of a South Korean frontline island by North Korea, the veterans affairs ministry said Thursday.

In what was North Korea's first attack on South Korean domain since the 1950-53 Korean War, scores of artillery rounds and rockets were fired on Yeonpyeong Island just south of the de facto inter-Korean sea border of the Northern Limit Line on Nov. 23, 2010.

The bombardment escalated into artillery engagement between the Koreas, killing two South Korean soldiers and two other civilians.

This year's memorial service scheduled for Monday at the War Memorial in Seoul will gather together about 4,000 government officials and residents of the frontline island under the slogan "The united power of the people could defend the country from North Korean provocations," according to the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs.

President Park Geun-hye plans to deliver a video message to the ceremony, which will overlap with her foreign trip.

The ceremony will also include a performance where elementary students from the island will re-enact the 2010 engagement. Marine Corps servicemen also plan to stage a group dance performance in commemoration.

"The fifth anniversary ceremony of the Yeonpyeong bombardment provocation will be an opportunity to commemorate the sublimity of the victims' sacrifice and cement the country's security determination," an official from the ministry said.

No official records are available on what damage the engagement incurred on the North Korean side, but a local media outlet specializing in North Korea has said it killed about 10 North Korean soldiers and wounded 30 others.

Since the artillery attack, South Korea increased the number of Marine Corps troops stationed on Yeonpyeong and four other adjacent frontline islands by 1,200 to nearly 5,000 while deploying more artillery pieces in efforts to prevent a repeat of similar attacks. (Yonhap)