SEOUL, Nov. 25 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has rejected a proposal by the U.S.-led U.N. Command (UNC) to hold general-level military talks on the North's deadly artillery attack on an inhabited South Korean island, officials said Thursday.

   The UNC, which supervises the armistice that ended the Korean War in 1953, proposed holding the talks with North Korea on Wednesday, a day after North Korea shelled Yeonpyeong Island, killing two marines and two civilians.

   "North Korea rejected the proposal by the UNC because it appeared to see no practical benefit in the talks," said an official at the South's defense ministry.

   Officials at the UNC were not immediately available for comment.

   The UNC said it will investigate the North's artillery attack as part of its responsibility to maintain the truce and will determine any violations.

   North Korea fired a barrage of artillery rounds on Yeonpyeong in the mid-afternoon on Tuesday. The attack injured 15 marines and at least three civilians, gutting dozens of houses.

   The UNC is headed by the top U.S. commander in South Korea, where some 28,500 American troops are stationed to deter North Korean aggression.

   kdh@yna.co.kr
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