South Korea fires warning shots to repel North Korean patrol boat, questions crew

South Korea often fires warning shots to repel North Korean boats crossing the poorly marked sea border, but there have been deadly clashes

Seoul blamed North Korea for an attack on a South Korean warship that killed 46 sailors in 2010, but the North has denied responsibility

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South Korean Navy’s patrol ships search for survivors from the sunken South Korean navy ship near South Korea’s Baekryeong island, in March 2010. South Korea said Tuesday it fired warning shots at a North Korean patrol boat that temporarily crossed the countries’ disputed western sea boundary while chasing an unarmed North Korean vessel. Photo: AP Photo

Published: 8:36am, 9 Mar 2022Updated: 5:02pm, 9 Mar 2022

South Korea says it fired warning shots at a North Korean patrol boat that temporarily crossed the countries’ disputed western sea boundary while chasing an unarmed North Korean vessel.

The North Korean patrol boat crossed the so-called Northern Limit Line on Tuesday morning while pursuing the vessel in waters near South Korea’s Baekryeong island and retreated after a South Korean naval ship fired warning shots, according to Seoul’s Defence Ministry and Joint Chiefs of Staff.

South Korean military officials seized the North Korean vessel being chased by the patrol boat and questioned its seven crew members.

South Korea said on Wednesday it had repatriated the crew, who told authorities they had crossed the maritime border due to a “navigation error and mechanical problem” and asked to return to the North, the defence ministry said.

“Our military handed over all seven North Korean crew and the ship to the North... on humanitarian grounds and according to the custom,” it added in a statement.

A North Korean patrol boat had also crossed the de facto maritime border off the west coast of the peninsula early Tuesday while chasing the southbound vessel, a defence ministry official said.

South Korean Navy patrol ships search for survivors from a sunken navy ship near South Korea’s Baekryeong island in 2010. File photo: AP

The South’s navy fired a warning shot at the North Korean patrol boat, which turned around and headed back to the North, the official added.