Video: S. Korea vows retaliation against North

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   MATT LAUER, co-host: But we'll begin this Wednesday morning with the latest developments and fallout over North Korea 's deadly attack on a South Korean island. NBC 's Ian Williams is in Incheon , South Korea , this morning. Ian , good morning to you.

   IAN WILLIAMS reporting: Good morning, Matt. There have been no fresh clashes today, but the border region does remain tense. The South Korean army is on high alert and today recovered the body of two more victims of Tuesday's assault, both of them civilians. It's being called one of the gravest incidents since the end of the Korean war , dozens of artillery shells fired from the north without warning, slamming into a South Korean fishing village. The barrage lasted for an hour, terrified villagers scrambling to reach underground bunkers. Their frontline island sits just a couple of miles from a disputed sea front here with the north, but nobody had expected this. Fires were everywhere. 'It was chaotic,' this man said, while this villager said, ' I I thought I was going to die if I stepped out of the house.' It's remarkable the number of casualties wasn't higher. The South Korean military was carrying out drills in the area at the time and had informed the north. It denies doing anything to provoke the attack, but did quickly respond, firing its own artillery and scrambling fighter jets. President Obama was woken early Tuesday to be given the news and quickly condemned the attack, calling on the north to end its "belligerent action." Later, in an ABC interview, he reaffirmed the US security pact with the south.

   President BARACK OBAMA: South Korea is our ally. It has been since the Korean war . And we strongly affirm our commitment to defend South Korea as part of that alliance.

   WILLIAMS: Which he later repeated to South Korean president Lee Myung-bak . He's been meeting his generals, warning that unprovoked attacks against civilians will not be tolerated. He threatened enormous retaliation if the north attacks again. In fact, this is the second attack from the north in eight months. In March, Pyongyang sank a South Korean ship, killing 46 seamen. Many civilians were still huddled in shelters today. With smoke hanging over their still smoldering homes, hundreds of civilians are being evacuated to the mainland. Officials say several thousands are also being encouraged to leave from other vulnerable islands close to the front here. Meanwhile, the aircraft carrier the USS George Washington is on its way here for exercises with the south scheduled for this weekend. Locally, officials are saying it's preplanned, but they're also saying it's a timely reminder of

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