The DPRK has released a report, saying the shelling of Yeonpeyong Island followed "deliberate provocation" by South Korea.

According to DPRK's official news agency KCNA, the report states "who was to blame for the shelling incident in the West Sea of Korea."

It claims South Korea "fired thousands of shells into the territorial waters of the DPRK", in an attempt to provoke the DPRK to take a military response. The report also notes that the United States gained the most from the incident.

It says this allowed the US to deploy the aircraft carrier, the USS George Washington to the West Sea, and also forced concessions from the South Korean side in a bilateral Free Trade Pact.