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| A South Korean Navy (ROK Navy) Gumdoksuri class patrol vessel opening fire. ROK Navy Official Website |
SEOUL, South Korea - South Korea said it fired advising shots at a North Korean command boat that had temporarily crossed the disputed country's western ocean border while pursuing an unarmed North Korean vessel.
A North Korean command boat crossed the so- called Northern Boundary Line early Tuesday while pursuing a vessel in waters near South Korea's Baekryeong islet and retreated after a South Korean nonmilitary vessel fired advising shots, according to Seoul's Defense Ministry and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
South Korean service officers seized the North Korean boat being chased by the command boat and questioned its seven crew members.
The South Korean Navy constantly fires advising shots to repel North Korean vessels crossing the countries'unmarked maritime borders, but there have also been several deadly clashes over the times. South Korea criticized North Korea for an attack on a South Korean warship that killed 46 mariners in 2010, but North Korea has denied responsibility.
South Korea has patrolled the waters around the Northern Limit Line for decades after it was created by UN command at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. North Korea doesn't fete the line and insists on a boundary that extends deep into the waters presently controlled by the South.
Tuesday's incident comes amid renewed pressure created by North Korea's accelerated bullet tests this time, including a launch on Saturday that North Korea said tested technology for a asset satellite it's developing.
It comes a day before South Koreans vote in the largely queried presidential election. The bitter crusade has been marked by clashes between leading campaigners over whether South Korea should continue to pursue engagement with rival North Korea or take a tougher line to examine its nuclear trouble.
Nuclear accommodations between the United States and North Korea have stalled for three times over dissensions over an easing of US- led warrants against North Korea in exchange for way toward its nuclear demilitarization.