Naval clash in the Korean Sea.

sob

Mod
Joined
May 4, 2009
Messages
6,425
Likes
3,805
Country flag
Korean naval ships 'clash at sea'

There has been a clash between ships from the rival navies of North and South Korea, according to the South Korean news agency Yonhap.

The agency says that a South Korean warship fired a shot at a North Korean vessel which crossed the demarcation line off their western coast.

The North Korean ship returned fire, but no injuries are reported so far.

The two navies have engaged in deadly exchanges twice along their western sea border in the past decade.

In October, North Korea's navy accused South Korea of sending warships across their maritime border to stir tensions, and warned that further incursions could spark retaliations.

The communist state's navy said that on one day alone, ships had crossed the boundary 10 times.

South Korea recognises the Northern Limit Line, drawn unilaterally by the US-led United Nations Command at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, which has never been accepted by North Korea.

In 1999 a North Korean ship was sunk and several vessels from both sides were damaged during an exchange of fire.

In 2002 four South Korean sailors and an estimated 30 North Koreans were killed in a 20-minute battle.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8351738.stm
 

sob

Mod
Joined
May 4, 2009
Messages
6,425
Likes
3,805
Country flag
Warning from N Korea

North Korea warns of naval clash

North Korea's navy has accused South Korea of sending warships across their maritime border to stir tensions.

The North warned that further incursions across the disputed border could spark retaliations.

The communist state's navy said that on Monday alone, ships had crossed the boundary 10 times.
An official with the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North's charge is groundless as Seoul does not acknowledge the Pyongyang-set border.

South Korea recognises the Northern Limit Line, drawn unilaterally by the US-led United Nations Command at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, which has never been accepted by North Korea.

The maritime border has since been disputed by the two Koreas, and the West Sea was the site of deadly naval skirmishes in 1999 and 2002.


"The reckless military provocations... have created such a serious situation that a naval clash may break out," the North Korean military said in a statement on Thursday.
BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | North Korea warns of naval clash
 

Sridhar

House keeper
Senior Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2009
Messages
3,474
Likes
1,061
Country flag
NKorea boat "in flames" after naval clash: Seoul
By Lim Chang-Won (AFP) – 5 hours ago
SEOUL — A North Korean patrol boat was set ablaze after exchanging fire with South Korea's navy on Tuesday, Seoul officials said, as tensions rose a week before a scheduled US presidential visit.
The two sides blamed each other for the clash, the first for seven years near the disputed Yellow Sea border off the west coast.
President Lee Myung-Bak called an emergency meeting of security ministers as his Prime Minister Chung Un-Chan accused the North of making a "direct attack" on a high-speed patrol craft.
"There was no damage on our side while a North Korean patrol boat engulfed in flame sailed back (across the border)," Chung told parliament.
He described the clash, which follows recent peace overtures from the North, as unplanned and urged people to stay calm.
Some analysts, however, said Pyongyang may be sending President Barack Obama a message, eight days before he arrives in South Korea as part of an Asian tour.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff said the South's boat sent several warning signals after the North's boat crossed the border, but the intruder held its course.
After the South's boat fired warning shots, "the North's side opened fire, directly aiming at our ship. Then our ship responded by firing back, forcing the North Korean boat to return to the north," the statement said.
"There were no casualties on our side. We are on the lookout for any further provocations by the North," it said.
"We fired heavily on the North Korean vessel," an unidentified navy official told Yonhap news agency, adding the initial assessment was that it suffered considerable damage.
"We express our strong protest to North Korea and urge it to prevent a recurrence of such incidents," said Brigadier-General Lee Ki-Sik of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
He said the two sides exchanged fire for two minutes from a distance of 3,200 metres (3,500 yards). The North fired about 50 rounds, 15 of which hit the South Korean boat.
The border known as the Northern Limit Line (NLL) has always been a potential flashpoint and was the scene of bloody naval clashes in 1999 and 2002. History of naval clashes between the two Koreas
The North's navy last month accused South Korea of sending warships across the line to stir tensions, and said the "reckless military provocations" could trigger clashes.
General Lee said the North breached the NLL 22 times this year. But this was the first time the South had to fire warning shots because the patrol boat kept intruding despite five warning signals.
North Korea's military, however, told its South Korean counterpart to apologise for a "grave armed provocation" and said Seoul's ships had opened fire while its craft was north of the border.
In a report on Pyongyang's official media, the North said its boat "lost no time to deal a prompt retaliatory blow at the provokers".
Kim Yong-Hyun, a professor at Dongguk University, said he thought it likely the incident was an intentional provocation from the North because its boat ignored warnings from the South.
"This might be an intentional clash aimed at heightening tension ahead of Obama's trip," Kim told YTN television.
"I believe North Korea is trying to show Obama the volatility of the peninsula. North Korea has demanded a peace pact be signed with the US to replace the truce agreement (which ended the 1950-53 war)."
The clash, which occurred at 11.28 am (0228 GMT) near Daechong island, came amid Pyongyang's peace feelers to Seoul and Washington after months of hostility marked by its missile test-launches and a nuclear test.
The North has invited US special envoy Stephen Bosworth to Pyongyang for talks on ending the standoff about its nuclear weapons programme. Washington was expected to decide soon to go ahead with the trip.
The NLL was drawn up unilaterally by United Nations forces at the end of the Korean War in 1953. The North has never recognised it and wants it drawn further to the south.


AFP: NKorea boat "in flames" after naval clash: Seoul
 

Sridhar

House keeper
Senior Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2009
Messages
3,474
Likes
1,061
Country flag
  • NKorea says SKorea must apologise for naval clash
Seoul, Nov 10 (AFP) North Korea's military told South Korea to apologise for a "grave armed provocation" after their navies exchanged fire today near the disputed Yellow Sea border.

"The South Korean military authorities should make an apology to the North side for the armed provocation and take a responsible measure against the recurrence of the similar provocation," the military supreme command said.

The command, in a report on what it called a "grave armed provocation", said its patrol boat was on a mission to confirm "an unidentified object" on the North's side of the border.

While it was sailing back, South Korean warships chased it and opened fire, according to the report quoted by the North's Korean Central News Agency.

It said the North's craft "lost no time to deal a prompt retaliatory blow at the provokers.


fullstory
 

sob

Mod
Joined
May 4, 2009
Messages
6,425
Likes
3,805
Country flag
the two Koreas are still officialy at war with each other and with Lacs of heavily armed troops facing each other across the DMZ, the situation can turn volatile very soon.

In addition to this with the brinkmanship games being played by the N Koreans over the nuclear and missile issue, we should keep our fingres crossed.
 

RPK

Indyakudimahan
Senior Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2009
Messages
4,970
Likes
229
Country flag
TIMELINE - Major incidents along border of rival Koreas | World | Reuters

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea increased regional tension just ahead of a trip to Asia this week by U.S President Barack Obama by sparking a small-scale naval skirmish with the South on Tuesday.
The following is a list of major border incidents since 1998, when the then South Korean President Kim Dae-jung articulated his "Sunshine Policy" of engagement with the North:

Dec. 18, 1998 - South Korean navy sinks submersible North Korean spy vessel on east coast. A scuba diver from the North is found dead.

June 1999 - At least 17 and as many as 80 North Korean sailors killed in naval firefight over Northern Limit Line (NLL), a west coast, Yellow Sea border contested by the North. One of the North's vessels was sunk, others damaged.

Clash followed nine days of incursions by the North into South Korean waters.

Nov. 27, 2001 - North Korean soldiers fire at a South Korean guard post and South returns fire.

June 29, 2002 - A clash between South and North Korean naval vessels in Yellow Sea sinks one South Korean frigate and kills six South Korean sailors and an estimated 13 North Koreans.

July 17, 2003 - South Korea says its troops returned machinegun fire a minute after the North shot at an observation post in the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) buffer between the states.

July 14, 2004 - A South Korean navy ship fires two warning shots at a North Korean patrol boat near the NLL.

Nov. 1 - South Korean patrol boats fire warning shots to repel three North Korean patrol boats that cross the NLL.
April 23, 2005 - Pyongyang says the South Korean military fired a gunshot at a North Korean border guard post.

May 26, 2006 - Two North Korean soldiers enter DMZ and cross into South Korea. They return after South fires warning shots.

Oct 7, 2006 - South Korea fires warning shots after North Korean soldiers cross briefly into their side of the border.

July 11, 2008 - South Korean tourist, a 53-year-old housewife, shot dead by North Korean soldier at the Mount Kumgang resort in the North, which is run by companies in the South.

Nov. 10, 2009 - Two Koreas have brief naval fight just south of the NLL.
 

IBRIS

Tihar Jail
Banned
Joined
Aug 6, 2009
Messages
1,402
Likes
796
Country flag
Korean warships clash near disputed sea border

SEOUL (AFP) - A North Korean patrol boat was set ablaze after exchanging fire with South Korea's navy on Tuesday, Seoul officials said, as cross-border tensions rose a week before a scheduled US presidential visit.

The two sides blamed each other for the clash, the first for seven years near the disputed Yellow Sea border.


President Lee Myung-Bak called an emergency meeting of security ministers as his Prime Minister Chung Un-Chan accused the North of making a "direct attack" on a South Korean high-speed patrol craft.


"There was no damage on our side while a North Korean patrol boat engulfed in flame sailed back (across the border)," Chung told parliament.


He described the clash, which follows recent peace overtures from the North, as unplanned and urged people to stay calm.


Some analysts, however, said Pyongyang may be sending President Barack Obama a message, eight days before he arrives in South Korea as part of an Asian tour.


Defence Minister Kim Tae-Young told parliament the North's boat sailed more than 1.6 kilometres (one mile) south of the border and "I believe they clearly knew about the intrusion".


The Joint Chiefs of Staff said the South's boat sent several warning signals after the North's craft crossed the border, but the intruder held its course.


After the South fired warning shots, "the North's side opened fire, directly aiming at our ship. Then our ship responded by firing back, forcing the North Korean boat to return to the north," the statement said.


"There were no casualties on our side. We are on the lookout for any further provocations by the North," it said.


"We fired heavily on the North Korean vessel," an unidentified navy official told Yonhap news agency, adding the initial assessment was that it suffered considerable damage.


"We express our strong protest to North Korea and urge it to prevent a recurrence of such incidents," said Brigadier-General Lee Ki-Sik of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.


He said the two sides exchanged fire for two minutes from a distance of about three kilometres. The North fired about 50 rounds, 15 of which hit the South Korean boat.


The border known as the Northern Limit Line (NLL) has always been a potential flashpoint and was the scene of bloody naval clashes in 1999 and 2002.


General Lee said the North breached the NLL 22 times this year. But this was the first time the South had to fire warning shots, because the patrol boat kept intruding despite five warning signals.Chronology: NKorea, SKorea clashes


North Korea's military, however, told its South Korean counterpart to apologise for a "grave armed provocation" and said Seoul's ships had opened fire while its craft was north of the border.


In a report on Pyongyang's official media, the North said its boat "lost no time to deal a prompt retaliatory blow at the provokers".


"This might be an intentional clash aimed at heightening tension ahead of Obama's trip," Kim Yong-Hyun, a professor at Dongguk University, told YTN television.

"I believe North Korea is trying to show Obama the volatility of the peninsula. North Korea has demanded a peace pact be signed with the US to replace the truce agreement (which ended the 1950-53 war)."

Yoo Ho-Yeol of Korea University said the clash appeared intended to raise tension before Obama's visit. "North Koreans believe tension helps them strengthen their bargaining power," he told Yonhap.

But Yang Moo-Jin of Seoul's University of North Korean Studies told AFP that if it had been a deliberate provocation, the North would have mobilised more than one patrol boat.

The clash came amid Pyongyang's peace feelers to Seoul and Washington after months of hostility marked by its missile test-launches and a nuclear test.

The North has invited US special envoy Stephen Bosworth to Pyongyang for talks on ending the standoff about its nuclear weapons programme. Washington was expected to decide soon to go ahead with the trip.
Korean warships clash near disputed sea border - Yahoo! Canada News
 

Latest Replies

Global Defence

New threads

Articles

Top