South, North Korea patrol boats exchange fire at disputed sea border

Patrol boats from North and South Korea briefly exchanged fire yesterday near their de facto western sea border, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea's military.

The incident, which occurred at about 9.50am in waters near Yeonpyeong Island in the Yellow Sea, came just three days after the two Koreas agreed in rare talks to hold another round of high-level dialogue in the near future, raising hopes for a thaw in inter-Korean relations.

According to the JCS, the North Korean patrol boat crossed a disputed maritime demarcation line and intruded 0.5 nautical miles into the southern side, prompting the South Korean patrol boat to fire a warning shot. But instead of retreating back across the so-called Northern Limit Line, the North Korean boat fired back, causing the South Korean side to fire again. It then retreated.

Neither boat appeared to have been hit in the exchange, which lasted some 10 minutes, Yonhap News Agency quoted a JCS officer as saying, suggesting neither side aimed their shots.

The incident follows talks on Saturday in which the two Koreas agreed to hold a second round of high-level talks late this month or early next month to follow up on the first round held in February.