How blue crabs, and the sea they inhabit, could make or break peace on the Korean peninsula

Mark J. Valencia says the agreement between North and South Korea to establish a maritime peace zone would go some way towards preventing conflicts, especially during peak fishing periods

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South Korean soldiers lock the entrance to a beach on Yeonpyeong island, near the Northern Limit Line with North Korea, on April 24. Photo: AFP

Published: 11:45am, 18 May 2018Updated: 7:05pm, 18 May 2018

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in signed the momentous Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula last month. The two sides were due to meet for follow-up discussions on the details of its implementation. Unfortunately, that meeting was abruptly cancelled by North Korea due to a “misunderstanding” over South Korean-US military exercises involving nuclear-capable aircraft.

If and when the talks get back on track they might initially focus on a little noticed detail of the declaration: an agreement to “devise a practical scheme to turn the areas around the Northern Limit Line in the West [Yellow] Sea into a maritime peace zone in order to prevent accidental military clashes and guarantee safe fishing activities”.

This idea was proposed nearly 20 years ago. But now its time may have come. Indeed it may be just in time for blue crab season.

The competition for the valuable seafood coincides with a spike in violent incidents there. In 1999, four North Korean patrol boats escorting a group of fishing boats crossed the Northern Limit Line. A firefight ensued that left one North Korean vessel sunk, five patrol boats damaged, 30 sailors killed and 70 wounded. There have been several subsequent violent and dangerous incidents, in 2002, 2004 and 2009. Most began with North Korean fishing boats and patrol vessels crossing the Northern Limit Line.

South Korean marines and navy soldiers conduct a crackdown against illegal fishing in neutral waters around Ganghwa island, South Korea, near the Northern Limit Line in June 2016. Photo: AP