By Yoo Dong-ho
Staff Reporter


Three North Korean patrol boats have briefly intruded into South Korean waters on the West Sea but retreated after receiving warning shots, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Monday.

``Two North Korean boats first infiltrated South Korean waters around 10:54 a.m., and one of the boats returned at 11: 15 a.m. after out patrols fired two rounds of warning shots between 11:03 a.m. and 11:09 a.m.,’’ a JCS spokesperson said in a statement.

``Despite the warning shots, the other patrol boat went about 2.7 miles south of the Northern Limit Line (NLL) and returned to the North side around 11:40 a.m.,’’ the official said.

But the same boat again intruded the NLL at 12:08 p.m. and returned seven minutes later after four warning shots from South Korean patrol guards. ``The North claimed the boat was supervising Chinese fishing ships,’’ said the official.

The South Korean Navy was watching about 80 Chinese ships operating near Sochong Island when the North Korean boat crossed the NLL, the official said.

Another North Korean patrol boat also temporarily violated the NLL by going about 0.9 mile south of the line at 11:00 a.m., 25 miles from Yonpyong Island on the West.

A de facto inter-Korean sea border, the NLL has been a constant source of conflict between the rival Koreas in recent years. Navy ships from the two sides clashed in 1999 and 2002, resulting in heavy casualties.

In June, the militaries of the two Koreas agreed in rare general-grade talks to take steps to ease tension along the poorly marked maritime border. As concrete measures to avoid such accidental clashes, the two sides agreed to have their navies share the same radio frequency, set up a telephone hotline and exchange information on illegal fishing activities by a third country, namely China.

The North, however, has refused to accept the NLL, claiming it was unilaterally drawn by the U.S.-led United Nations Command after the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended without a peace treaty, leaving the two Koreas in a state of war.

yoodh@koreatimes.co.kr