The military of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Sunday warned South Korean authorities on the latter's upcoming naval shelling drill, the official news agency KCNA reported.

The South Korean military will stage a naval shelling drill in the waters around five islands in the West Sea of Korea Monday, the KCNA quoted a notice of the Command of Forces of the Korean People's Army (KPA) in the Western Sector of the Front as saying.

The drill is taking the territorial waters of the north side as their target, and is "a premeditated military provocation" to defend the illegal "northern limit line" and worsen the overall situation on the Korean Peninsula, the notice said.

Once South Korea trespasses on the DPRK's inviolable marine demarcation line, and in case just a single column of water is observed in its territorial waters, the KPA will "promptly make merciless retaliatory strikes," it stressed.

All civilians who either live or engage in occupation on the five islands in the West Sea and in their vicinity are advised to evacuate in advance to safe areas before 9:00 a.m. (00:00 GMT) Monday when the provocative naval shelling starts, the notice said.

At the end, the notice urged the South Korean government not to forget the Yonphyong Island shelling case on Nov. 23, 2010, during which the DPRK and South Korean militaries exchanged fierce artillery fire near the island and four South Koreans were killed.