N. Korea Has Violated NLL 135 Times Since 2001

North Korean vessels have crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL) without warning 135 times since 2001.

North Korean patrol ships and fishing ships, respectively, violated the NLL 65 times and 37 times over a seven year period, according to a report the Joint Chiefs of Staff submitted Sunday to Grand National Party lawmakers belonging to the National Assembly`s Unification, Foreign Affairs and Trade Committee.

Broken down by year, the violations occurred 20 times in 2001 (12 patrol ships, three fishing boasts, five other vessels), 19 times in 2002 (15 patrol ships, two fishing boasts, two other vessels), 21 times in 2003 (five patrol ships, 14 fishing boasts, two other vessels), 19 times in 2004 (nine patrol ships, four fishing boasts, six other vessels), 14 times in 2005 (seven patrol ships, four fishing boasts, three other vessels), 21 times in 2006 (11 patrol ships, five fishing boasts, five other vessels), and 21 times as of the end of September 2007 (six patrol ships, five fishing boasts, ten other vessels).

The report shows that the government has been reluctant to respond to the frequent intrusions of North Korean vessels.

According to the report, the government never confronted the North’s violations of the NLL before 2002 when the two Korean navies engaged in a gun battle.

The South Korean navy took strong measures against North Korean vessels crossing the NLL, such as use of force or firing warning shots in 2003 and 2004, but has only warned intruding vessels by radio since 2005.

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