North Korean patrol boat violates maritime border
North Korean patrol boat crossed disputed sea border several times on Monday, says South Korean defence ministry
A North Korean patrol boat repeatedly crossed the disputed Yellow Sea border with the South in an apparent show of force at the start of South Korea-US military drills, Seoul’s defence ministry said on Tuesday.
The incursion took place three times overnight on Monday and at one point the North Korean naval vessel had reached two nautical miles inside the South side of the border.
We suspect this is aimed at testing our military preparedness
No shots were fired and the patrol boat eventually retreated after warnings from the South Korean navy, defence ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said.
“We suspect this is aimed at testing our military preparedness”, Kim told reporters, saying it was apparent that the vessel had “intentionally violated” the boundary.
North Korean incursions over the maritime border – which it does not officially recognise – are not unusual and there were at least three last year.
This was the first such incident this year and it came as South Korea and the United States on Monday launched their annual joint military exercises, which Pyongyang routinely condemns as rehearsals for invasion.
The maritime boundary, which was unilaterally drawn by the US-led United Nations forces after the 1950-53 Korean war, was the scene of brief but bloody naval clashes in 1999, 2002 and 2009.