Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, August 26, 2003
S.Korea Fires Warning Shots against DPRK Patrol Boat
A petrol boat of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) briefly violated the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the waters between South Korea and the DPRK early Tuesday before a South Korean Navy speedboat fired warning shots to repel the ship, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.
A petrol boat of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) briefly violated the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the waters between South Korea and the DPRK early Tuesday before a South Korean Navy speedboat fired warning shots to repel the ship, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.
The DPRK's 200-ton vessel crossed the NLL, the controversial sea border between the two countries, about 12 miles west of Yeonpyeong Island at 7:02 a.m. Tuesday (2202 GMT Monday), the JCS said.
It moved 0.3 mile into southern waters but returned to the northern side three minutes later after a 1,200-ton South Korean patrol boat fired two warning shots, according to the JCS. It said the DPRK's navy showed no particular movement during the violation.
Tuesday's intrusion was the third this year by a DPRK patrol boat and the first time in 2003 for a South Korean ship to fire warning shots against that type of vessel from the DPRK. In 1999 and 2002, the navies of the two sides exchanged fire around the NLL, causing personnel and ship loss of the both sides.