Kang Jae-Nam / Newsis via AP A Chinese fisherman wearing an orange life vest, fourth from left, is rescued by South Korean coast guard officers from a Chinese ship in Jeju, South Korea, on August 28, 2012. A powerful typhoon pounded South Korea with strong winds and heavy rain Tuesday, while the nation's coast guard battled rough seas in a race to rescue fishermen on two Chinese ships that slammed into rocks off the southern coast.

South Korea Coast Guard via AP South Korean coast guardsmen attempt to rescue Chinese fishermen after it slammed into rocks off the coast of Jeju, south of Seoul.

Kang Jae-Nam / Newsis via AP A Chinese fisherman is rescued by South Korean coast guard officers, unseen.

Yonhap via AFP - Getty Images The South Korean coast guard rescue a crew member, center, of a stranded Chinese fishing boat.

Kang Jae-Nam / Newsis via AP A Chinese fisherman, second right, wearing an orange life vest, is rescued.

Reuters reports — A typhoon with winds of up to 106 mph buffeted South Korea's west coast on Tuesday, killing five people at sea and leaving 10 missing when two Chinese fishing vessels capsized.

Typhoon Bolaven barreled up the coast before making landfall in already flood-ravaged North Korea as the impoverished country struggles to feed its 24 million people.

Much at stake for US as tensions rise in troubled China Seas

Coast guard rescuers pulled 18 surviving fishermen from the Chinese vessels that capsized off the southern island of Jeju and found five bodies, the emergency services said. Read the full story.