ID :
23620
Fri, 10/10/2008 - 14:41
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/23620
The shortlink copeid
N. Korean Navy warns of naval clash in Yellow Sea
SEOUL, Oct. 9 (Yonhap) -- The North Korean Navy warned Thursday that repeated violations of its waters by South Korean warships is raising the possibility of a clash in the Yellow Sea.
The announcement by the Navy Command and carried by the (North) Korea Central
news Agency, said it will deal firmly with any violations of its sovereignty.
"There is a limit to forbearance and the South needs to carefully contemplate the
consequence of its actions," the North said.
It then said that the North is carefully monitoring movement of South Korean
naval vessels and ready to destroy any encroachments.
The warnings comes two days after the communist country fired two short range
anti-ship missiles off its west coast.
Pyongyang has in recent years demanded that the Northern Limit Line (NLL), drawn
by the U.S.-led United Nations Command at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, be
scrapped in exchange for a revised demarcation line that gives greater control
over contested waters to the North.
Seoul has rejected such demands and maintains that the NLL will remain the de
facto sea border. The South Korean Navy, which is much stronger than its northern
counterpart, has enforced the status quo, ejecting North Korea patrol boats that
stray south of the line.
The two Koreas clashed twice in the Yellow Sea in the past. In the 1999 incident,
one North Korean gun boat sank and another was seriously damaged, incurring
significant loss of life. In the second incident, which took place during the
2002 FIFA World Cup co-hosted by Seoul and Tokyo, a South Korean patrol boat was
sunk, killing six sailors, while North Korean boats that started the shootout
received considerable damage and barely made it back to base.
The defense ministry said in a parliamentary audit session that North Korean
vessels crossed the NLL 21 times this year.
Related to accusation raised by the North, a Navy spokesman made clear that South
Korean ships did not cross the NLL or take part in any provocative action.
Local military experts, meanwhile, speculated that the latest warning and
increase number of armed exercises conducted by the North may be in response to
the cooling of cross-border relations after President Lee Myung-bak took power in
February.
The conservative president has said he will ask the North for reciprocal measures
in exchange for any help provided by the South.
Such a stance contrasts with more conciliatory policies espoused by past two
liberal governments.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
(END)
Download this as a file
The announcement by the Navy Command and carried by the (North) Korea Central
news Agency, said it will deal firmly with any violations of its sovereignty.
"There is a limit to forbearance and the South needs to carefully contemplate the
consequence of its actions," the North said.
It then said that the North is carefully monitoring movement of South Korean
naval vessels and ready to destroy any encroachments.
The warnings comes two days after the communist country fired two short range
anti-ship missiles off its west coast.
Pyongyang has in recent years demanded that the Northern Limit Line (NLL), drawn
by the U.S.-led United Nations Command at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, be
scrapped in exchange for a revised demarcation line that gives greater control
over contested waters to the North.
Seoul has rejected such demands and maintains that the NLL will remain the de
facto sea border. The South Korean Navy, which is much stronger than its northern
counterpart, has enforced the status quo, ejecting North Korea patrol boats that
stray south of the line.
The two Koreas clashed twice in the Yellow Sea in the past. In the 1999 incident,
one North Korean gun boat sank and another was seriously damaged, incurring
significant loss of life. In the second incident, which took place during the
2002 FIFA World Cup co-hosted by Seoul and Tokyo, a South Korean patrol boat was
sunk, killing six sailors, while North Korean boats that started the shootout
received considerable damage and barely made it back to base.
The defense ministry said in a parliamentary audit session that North Korean
vessels crossed the NLL 21 times this year.
Related to accusation raised by the North, a Navy spokesman made clear that South
Korean ships did not cross the NLL or take part in any provocative action.
Local military experts, meanwhile, speculated that the latest warning and
increase number of armed exercises conducted by the North may be in response to
the cooling of cross-border relations after President Lee Myung-bak took power in
February.
The conservative president has said he will ask the North for reciprocal measures
in exchange for any help provided by the South.
Such a stance contrasts with more conciliatory policies espoused by past two
liberal governments.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
(END)
Download this as a file
