South Korea fires warning shots after North’s boat crosses sea border
Published: 05:04 PM,Apr 16,2023 | EDITED : 09:04 PM,Apr 16,2023
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SEOUL: South Korea fired warning shots towards a North Korean vessel that crossed the maritime border, South Korea’s military said on Sunday, a day after the incident that further raised tension over the North’s missile tests.
The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it fired warning shots and broadcast warnings to expel a North Korean patrol boat that breached the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto sea boundary, around 11 am on Saturday.
“Our military maintains decisive battle posture while monitoring the enemy’s movements in preparation for potential provocations regarding NLL violations by North Korean patrol boats,” the JCS said in a statement on Sunday.
During the operations, a South Korean patrol ship came into “minor contact” with a nearby Chinese fishing vessel due to bad visibility, resulting in no safety issues but slight injuries among the South Korean crew, the JCS said.
The North’s incursion came as tension flared over the North’s stepped up military activities in recent weeks, including Friday’s test of a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile that experts say would facilitate missile launches with little warning.
In October the two Koreas traded warning shots in the western waters, accusing each other of breaching the sea border in an area where confrontations have often occurred.
Pyongyang threatened military action as South Korea and US forces have been carrying out their annual springtime exercises since March, calling them a rehearsal for nuclear war.
— Reuters
The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it fired warning shots and broadcast warnings to expel a North Korean patrol boat that breached the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto sea boundary, around 11 am on Saturday.
“Our military maintains decisive battle posture while monitoring the enemy’s movements in preparation for potential provocations regarding NLL violations by North Korean patrol boats,” the JCS said in a statement on Sunday.
During the operations, a South Korean patrol ship came into “minor contact” with a nearby Chinese fishing vessel due to bad visibility, resulting in no safety issues but slight injuries among the South Korean crew, the JCS said.
The North’s incursion came as tension flared over the North’s stepped up military activities in recent weeks, including Friday’s test of a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile that experts say would facilitate missile launches with little warning.
In October the two Koreas traded warning shots in the western waters, accusing each other of breaching the sea border in an area where confrontations have often occurred.
Pyongyang threatened military action as South Korea and US forces have been carrying out their annual springtime exercises since March, calling them a rehearsal for nuclear war.
— Reuters