BLOGGING via TYPEWRITER.

Warships from North and South Korea exchanged fire in disputed waters off the western coast of the Korean peninsula on Tuesday, leaving one North Korean vessel engulfed in flames, South Korean officials said.

The two Koreas accused each other of violating their territorial waters to provoke the two-minute skirmish. It was the first border fighting in seven years between the countries, which technically remain at war.

The incident served as a reminder of instability in the region just days before President Obama is due to begin a weeklong visit to Asia. How to deal with North Korea’s nuclear weapons program will be a key topic when he meets with President Lee Myung-bak in Seoul next week and during bilateral talks American officials say they will begin soon with the North.

North Korea appeared to have intended the clash to highlight its long-standing argument: the 1950-3 Korean War never officially ended and the United States must negotiate a peace treaty with it if it wants the North to give up its nuclear weapons program, according to analysts in Seoul.

“Our high-speed patrol boat repelled the North Korean patrol boat,” the South Korean Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement following the skirmish. “We are fully prepared for further provocations from the North Korean military.”

South Korea said it suffered no casualties. Speaking in Parliament, Prime Minister Chung Un-chan said the North Korean boat limped back to its waters “enveloped in flames.”