.contact us |.about us
News > International News ... ...
Search:
    Advertisement
S.Korea fires at N.Korea patrol boat
( 2003-10-30 14:37) (Agencies)

South Korea's navy fired warning shots Thursday after a North Korean patrol boat entered waters controlled by the South, the South Korean military said.

The incident on the tense western sea border between the two Koreas came a day after North Korea accused South Korean war ships of frequently intruding into their waters and warned of a possible naval skirmish.

The North Korean navy boat sailed 990 yards into waters controlled by the South on Thursday but turned back after 10 minutes when a South Korean war ship fired four warning shots, said a spokesman at the South Korean military's Office of Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The two sides had no more hostile exchanges, the spokesman said, speaking on customary condition of anonymity.

When the warning shots were fired, the ships from the opposing sides were about 8 miles apart, he said.

South Korean officials suspected that the North Korean patrol boat inadvertently crossed the poorly marked sea borderline while chasing off several Chinese fishing boats poaching in the area.

The North has never recognized a western sea boundary demarcated by the United Nations after the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. It claims a boundary farther south.

In the past years, the two Koreas often have accused each other of infiltrating navy ships and fishing boats into the other side's waters.

South Korean navy ships occasionally respond with warning shots, as they did in August when a North Korean navy boat crossed the U.N. boundary.

On Wednesday, North Korea accused South Korean navy ships of repeatedly violating its western sea border in recent days. South Korea rejected the claim as groundless.

"The South Korean military authorities should not act rashly, mindful that such infiltration into the territorial waters is a dangerous adventure which may spark a new 'West Sea skirmish,'" the North's official KCNA news agency said, referring to deadly naval gunbattles in the western sea in 1999 and 2002.

In the naval clash in June 2002, one South Korean warship sank, killing six of its sailors. The North said it suffered casualties but didn't confirm how many. In the 1999 clash, South Korea said several sailors were wounded, and that up to 30 North Koreans died.

The Koreas, which have been divided since 1945, share the world's most heavily armed border. The Korean War ended in a cease-fire, not a peace treaty.

 
Close  
   
  Today's Top News   Top International News
   
+Wu continues Korean visit, eyes on nuclear progress
( 2003-10-30)
+Bush meets Chinese defense minister
( 2003-10-30)
+China, EU leaders discuss yuan, geopolitics
( 2003-10-30)
+Disaster looms for Taiwan separatists
( 2003-10-30)
+$1.68 million not enough for gang
( 2003-10-30)
+Police question Israel's Sharon in funding scandal
( 2003-10-30)
+Crews dig in against Calif. wildfires
( 2003-10-30)
+As Concorde goes, so do we
( 2003-10-30)
+$25 million reward for al-Qaeda figure
( 2003-10-30)
+S.Korea fires at N.Korea patrol boat
( 2003-10-30)
   
  Go to Another Section  
     
 
 
     
  Article Tools  
     
 
 
     
  Related Articles  
     
 

+DPRK opens further to foreign companies
2003-10-30

+Wu visits Pyongyang, nuke headway in sight
2003-10-29

+Lawmaker: White House nixed N. Korea trip
2003-10-27

+N. Korean official dies of crash injuries
2003-10-27

+N.Korea: Ready to consider US security offer
2003-10-26

+S.Korea's Roh returns home to face referendum fight
2003-10-24

+U.S., Japan, S.Korea to meet on N.Korea security
2003-10-24

+South Korea says has no proof yet of 2nd North missile
2003-10-21

+Bush, S.Korean leader discuss N.Korea
2003-10-20

 
     
   
        .contact us |.about us
  Copyright By chinadaily.com.cn. All rights reserved