North-South Korea clash at sea

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South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak called an emergency meeting of security ministers even as the Prime Minister Chung Un-Chan said that the direct attack was provoked by the North Koreans

CJ: Keerat

Wed, Nov 11, 2009 09:48:57 IST

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NORTH AND South Korean ships exchanged fire off the western coast of the two countries in the disputed Yellow Sea Border said defence officials of both countries. This is the first such attack in seven years, triggering alarm in both countries.

According to a government official in Seoul, a North Korean patrol boat, ventured around 1.3 kilometers into territorial waters which South Korea claims to be part of its maritime border. South Korea claims that it fired some warning shots which were ignored by the other vessel. This led to a skirmish between the North and South Korean ships which lasted two minutes. According to the military, the South Korean vessel returned with 15 holes. The damage to the North Korean ship is more extensive as it caught fire.

South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak called an emergency meeting of security ministers even as the Prime Minister Chung Un-Chan said that the direct attack was provoked by the North Koreans. He insisted that they were unharmed from the “unplanned” attack.

South Korean Defence Minister Kim Tae-Young said that North Korea clearly knew about the intrusion. The Joint Chiefs of Staff have maintained that the North Korean intruding vessel held course even after several warning shots by the South Korean vessel. It then opened direct fire. It is this move that forced the South Korean vessel to retaliate and drive the ship back to the north. The South Koreans have said there were no casualties and are waiting to see if there will be any further provocation.
North Korea on the other hand has said that their patrol boat was first attacked by the South Koreans while on routine guard duty in waters it claims to be its own. It has further demanded an apology from South Korea for “grave armed provocation”. While reports suggest that a sailor may have died and three others injured, no confirmation could be obtained.

The attack comes just a week prior to US President Barack Obama’s visit to South Korea as part of an Asian tour. According to sources, the communist state’s attack may have been intentional aimed at escalating tension just before Obama’s visit. North Korea has approached the US for a peace pact as a replacement for the truce agreement, which ended the 1953 North-South Korea war, which left neither side satisfied.

Pyangyong has been preparing for talks with the US after months of missile and nuclear testing, which was severely condemned by both South Korea and the US. Although not confirmed, there have been talks of US envoy Stephen Bosworth being sent to Pyongyang in order to bring to an end the bitter standoff saga.

The Yellow Sea is demarcated by the Northern Limit Line (NLL) established by the U.N but the two nations continue to argue over the exact position of the sea border.