The South Korean armed forces said they had fired warning shots to drive a military boat out of North Korea at the maritime border between the two countries. The incident had already occurred on Saturday, said the general staff in the South Korean capital Seoul on Sunday. The boat from North Korea crossed the Northern Maritime Line (NLL) to the south in the sea between the Korean Peninsula and China.
The patrol boat turned away following being shot by a South Korean Navy speedboat, it said. North Korea does not recognize the NLL. The border line was unilaterally drawn by a UN command following the Korean War (1950-53) to prevent hostilities between the two sides. After the war, there were repeated battles between warships from both countries on the border.
South Korea’s military has hinted that the North Korean patrol boat may have been stalking a Chinese fishing boat engaged in illegal fishing activities. The South Korean speedboat collided slightly with a Chinese fishing boat when it was being used in poor visibility, it said. Some of the South Korean crew members suffered minor injuries.
The NLL incident came at a time of rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea has been testing nuclear-capable missiles since last year in violation of UN ban decisions. South Korea and the USA are once more holding their joint military exercises in full.
