The South Korean island of Yeonpyeong sits near the border with the North. [Source: BBC]

A South Korean official has been shot dead and burned by North Korean troops.

The South’s defence ministry which condemned the “brutal act”.

Seoul said the man had disappeared from a patrol boat near the border and was later found in the North’s waters.

North Korean soldiers shot him, then poured oil over his body and set it aflame

The ministry said it had come to this conclusion based on “diverse intelligence sources”.

Pyongyang has not commented.

It is the second time North Korea has reportedly killed a civilian from the South.