Seoul: South Korean military said that on Friday morning, they fired warning shots to drive away a North Korean merchant ship that briefly crossed the disputed western sea border between the two hostile neighbors.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea said the ship crossed the Northern Limit Line near the South Korean border island of Baegyeong Island around 5 a.m., but it retreated after the South Korean military issued audio warnings and fired warning shots.
No immediate reports have emerged of the North Korean military retaliating or responding with force. The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff stated that this response was conducted in accordance with operational procedures, and the military remains on high alert to resolutely defend its territorial waters.
South Korean military often fires warning shots to drive away North Korean patrol ships or merchant ships that enter its waters. The unclear western maritime boundary between North and South Korea has seen multiple small-scale clashes and attacks, including North Korea's shelling of a South Korean island in 2010 and alleged North Korean torpedo attacks on a South Korean navy vessel, which together resulted in 50 South Korean deaths.
In January 2024, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stated in an intense speech that North Korea does not recognize the Northern Limit Line in the Yellow Sea, which was established by the United Nations Command led by the United States at the end of the 1950-1953 Korean War. North Korea insists on a boundary line that significantly intrudes into South Korean-controlled waters.
In 2022, after the South Korean Navy opened fire on a North Korean merchant ship that crossed the western maritime boundary, both sides exchanged warning shots. Tensions on the Korean Peninsula remain severe as North Korea continues to ignore South Korea's calls for the resumption of diplomacy. In recent years, relations between North and South Korea have gradually deteriorated, with Kim Jong-un accelerating his weapons program and deepening ties with Moscow after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7554294422217966122/
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