South Korea's media is reporting that the North and South Korean navies have clashed in the Yellow Sea.

The exchange of fire is said to have happened along the disputed sea border between the two Koreas.

A South Korean defence official quoted by the Yonhap news agency in Seoul said a South Korean navy ship fired warning shots after a North Korean patrol vessel crossed the sea border.

The official says the North Koreans then fired back and continued on their course.

Yonhap says more shots were fired and the North Korean ship was badly damaged in the exchange.

The disputed border in the Yellow Sea was the scene of deadly clashes between the two Koreas in 1999 and 2002.

The communist North last month accused South Korea of sending warships across the border to stir tensions.