North claims naval incursion by South

North Korea on Tuesday asserted that naval craft of South Korea invaded its territorial waters.

The Central News Agency of the North in a news flash about 11:30 a.m. reported that four South Korean warships, with a number of fishing boats, penetrated deep into North Korean territorial waters west of Changsankot Headland at 8:30 a.m. Nov. 14.

"When a North Korean patrol ship approached the spot the South Korean vessels stood ready for action, allowing the fishing boats to flee," the report said. "The South's three battleships came out of the coastal waters of Paeknyong Island to reinforce its naval presence and invade our territorial waters, but they retreated to the south as our naval patrol craft closed in on them speedily. The situation that arose in the West Sea was reminiscent of the naval clash of June last year."

The state news outlet of Pyongyang said it cannot but regard that kind of grave military provocation as a deliberate and premeditated maneuver by the South Korean military seeking to reverse the trend developing toward inter-Korean rapprochement.

"The South Korean military authorities should be held accountable for the consequences of their provocative military machination perpetrated in the West Sea."

A Joint Chiefs of Staff source in Seoul rebuffed the North Korean claim, saying there has been no such occurrence as North Korea has described.