Pyongyang, North Korea - North Korea fired more than 200 artillery shells near two South Korean islands on Friday, Seoul's defense ministry said, warning the actions threatened peace and it would respond.

Residents on the two islands were ordered to evacuate, in one of the most serious military escalations between the two states since the North fired a barrage of shells at one of the islands in 2010.

Friday's live firing followed repeated warnings from Kim Jong-un's regime in Pyongyang that it was prepared for war against South Korea and its US ally.

"The North Korean military conducted over 200 rounds of firing today from around 09:00 to 11:00 (7 to 9 PM ET Thursday) in the areas of Jangsan-got in the northern part of Baengnyeong Island and the northern areas... of Yeonpyeong Island," a defence ministry official said at a briefing.

The ministry released a statement shortly after, saying: "This is a provocative act that threatens the peace on the Korean Peninsula."

"We sternly warn that North Korea bears full responsibility for this escalating crisis and strongly urge them to immediately cease these actions," it added.

"Our military closely tracks and monitors the situation in close coordination with the United States, and will take appropriate measures in response to North Korea's provocations."

Local officials on Yeonpyeong island told AFP that civilians had been told to evacuate, describing the order as a "preventative measure".

South Korea's Yeonpyeong Island is situated in the Yellow Sea. It is located some 50 miles west of Incheon and just over 7 miles south of the coastline of Hwanghae Province, North Korea.

Authorities on Baengnyeong Island also reported an evacuation order there.

"We are making the evacuation announcements at the moment," a local district official at Baengnyeong island told AFP, adding that he had been told the South Korean military would conduct a naval drill shortly.

"At first I thought it was the shells fired by our own military… but was told later it was by North Korea," Kim Jin-soo, a Baengnyeong island resident told local broadcaster YTN.

Relations between the North Korea and its neighbor at one of their lowest points in decades.

Kim recently said he would no longer seek reconciliation and reunification with South Korea, noting the "uncontrollable crisis" that he said was triggered by Seoul and Washington.