ROK Navy, Warning Fire in NLL

A North Korean fishing boat, having intruded in the West Sea NLL and ignored the warning of ROK Navy, retreated to the North by the warning shots of the South`s navy.

According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the intruding nine-ton North Korean fishing boat headed down about 2.5 miles south from the NLL at 4.5 miles North-West of Baekryong Island in the West Sea at 2:50 a.m. yesterday. South Navy immediately dispatched two fast patrol ships, which were on duty at the sea around Daecheong Island, and tried to inspect them while sending warning signals.

However, the five fishermen of the North rejected the inspection and resisted against the South navy by throwing iron rods, knives, and torches to the South patrol ships. Therefore, South navy ships approached 45 m close to the North fishing ship and fired 9 warning shots by K2 rifle. After saying ``do not approach. We will go back after starting the engine,`` the North Korean ship withdrew to the North crossing over the NLL about 5:27 a.m.

Captain Park Jung-Hwa said, ``the North Korean ship did not yield to the warning that South navy would fire if they did not stop. Therefore, the South navy had to fire warning shots.``

It is the first time that the South fire against the North ships intruding the NLL since the Yeonpyeong clash in June 1999. And the intrusion of the North Korean fishing ship had occurred once this year on May 1.

Meanwhile, about ten fishing boats were fishing on the northern waters of the NLL at the time of incident, the North did not make any noticeable military move after the warning fire.

Lee Chol-Hi klimt@donga.com