North and South Korea exchanged fire

It was reported that North and South Korea exchanged fires Tuesday at their disputed frontier. It was said that the North Korea started to fire the island of Yeonpyeong in South Korea when the later refused the warning of North Korea to stop the maritime drilling at their sea border. The refusal of the South Korea made the North to make its move. According to the reports, there have been fatalities recorded to both countries. This incident made a huge shock to different countries. The President of America, Barrack Obama, gave his word to defend South Korea as part of its alliance. President Obama also strongly condemned the attacks made by North Korea, and therefore called his counterpart Lee Myung-bak, South Korean President to hold a joint military exercise in response to North Korea’s Attacks. Many responded to the incident including some of the powerful and influential people in the hope that what happened would not lead into war.
If we examine the history of Korea, North and South Korea was one country before World War II but was divided in 1945 when the Japanese control on Korea ended. After the World War II in 1945, the Americans controlled the Southern part of Korea, while the Soviets gained control over the Northern part of Korea. The country was divided when the Soviets and the Americans failed to accomplish an agreement on a unified Korean government, thus two separate governments were formed in 1948 creating the Republic of Korea of the South and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea of the North. The North Korea invaded South Korea and this started the Korean War that lasted from three years from 1950 - 1953. When the war ended, neither won a complete victory and a permanent peace treaty has never been signed, thus the tension between the two remained. In 1991, North and South Korea entered the United Nations as separate countries.