Korea crisis: peninsula on the edge

South Korean ships patrol off the coast of the disputed Yeonpyeong Island Photograph: David Guttenfelder/AP

A member of a South Korean military explosives team removes a North Korean ordinance from where it struck on Yeonpyeong Island Photograph: David Guttenfelder/AP

Protesters hold candles during a rally in Seoul against a joint US-South Korea joint military exercise Photograph: Ahn Young-Joon/AP

A North Korean soldiers patrol a pathway along the bank of the Yalu River Photograph: Andy Wong/AP

A Yeonpyeong resident in front of a house damaged in the North Korea attack Photograph: Jeon Heon-Kyun/EPA

South Korean marines patrol along the southern coast of Yeonpyeong Island Photograph: David Guttenfelder/AP

A South Korean marine, behind a shrapnel hole in the window of his vehicle, waits for the removal of North Korean shells on Yeonpyeong Island Photograph: David Guttenfelder/AP

South Korean troops run for shelter on Yeonpyeong after an alarm was sounded, warning of a potential attack Photograph: Jeon Heon-Kyun/EPA

North Korean soldiers ride a motorcycle on the banks of the Yalu River near the Chinese border city of Dandong Photograph: Jacky Chen/Reuters

South Korean women take cover inside a bomb shelter on Yeonpyeong after authorities sounded the alarm, warning of a possible North Korean rocket attack Photograph: David Guttenfelder/AP

Members of the South Korea's national emergency management agency check gas masks as they inspect evacuation facilities at a subway station in Seoul Photograph: Yonhap/AFP/Getty Images

Residents of Yeonpyeong Island and South Korean soldiers take cover inside a bunker Photograph: David Guttenfelder/AP

Pro-unification supporters rally outside the 2nd fleet naval base demanding a halt to the joint military exercises bewteen South Korea and the US Photograph: Wally Santana/AP

South Korean sailors return to their naval ship from the port at Yeonpyeong Photograph: David Guttenfelder/AP

South Korean soldiers pack up camp during exercises at the western beach town of Malipo Photograph: Wally Santana/AP

North Korean defectors join Southern activists at a rally near the demilitarized zone Photograph: Jeon Heon-Kyun/EPA

A US F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter attack aircraft prepares to take off from the USS George Washington during a joint military exercise with South Korea off the West Sea Photograph: Wally Santana/AP

South Korean schoolchildren learn how to use gas masks in a mock attack in Seoul Photograph: Ahn Young-joon/AP

A South Korean amphibious vehicle moves down a street in a village on Baegnyeong island, north-west of Yeonpyeong Photograph: Won Dae-Yeon/AFP/Getty Images

South Korean veterans protest at an anti-North rally in Seoul Photograph: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images