An enormous fire erupted Thursday in the South Korean border town of Goseong, leaving at least two dead and forcing more than 3,000 people to evacuate, the Yonhap news agency reported.
Strong winds fanned the flames in the town, located in mountainous northeastern Gangwon province near the frontier with North Korea, the report said, citing fire officials.
The National Fire Agency dispatched firefighters from across the nation, Yonhap said, but the winds were complicating efforts to control the blaze.
Authorities issued the highest-level alert -- level three -- and President Moon Jae-in has told officials to take all measures necessary to battle the inferno.
Police found the body of a man on a road, apparently dead as a result of the fire, Yonhap said. A woman in her 70s also lost her life.
Eleven others were injured, but that toll was expected to rise, and damage to "numerous" buildings was reported.
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Local officials said the fire broke out alongside a road in Goseong, which is located about 210 kilometres northeast of the capital Seoul, in the evening hours.
It quickly spread to a nearby mountainside, forcing the evacuations.