EOUL, South Korea, June 30 — The shootout in the Yellow Sea on Saturday reflects North Korea's irritation with a border set by the United Nations almost half a century ago that prevents the North's ships from entering valuable fishing waters. Posted on 07/01/2002 4:30:50 AM PDT by JohnHuang2
EOUL, South Korea, June 30 — The shootout in the Yellow Sea on Saturday reflects North Korea's irritation with a border set by the United Nations almost half a century ago that prevents the North's ships from entering valuable fishing waters.
In the latest altercation, four South Koreans died when, according to South Korea, two North Korean patrol boats crossed over the disputed border, ignored signals to turn back, and fired on South Korean boats that were protecting fishing vessels.
Today the South estimated that North Korea had suffered about 30 casualties, but did not specify whether they were killed or wounded.
It was the worst confrontation in the border area since June 1999, when North Korea sent fishing vessels south of the line. After several days , South Korean naval vessels sank a North Korean torpedo boat, killing at least 20 North Koreans.
This year, North Korean vessels have repeatedly crept across the border before turning back under threat, a South Korean military spokesman said today. The line curves northward to protect islands that have long been held by South Korea, even though they are much closer to the northern mainland.
This is the height of the crabbing season in the waters off the North's Ungjin Peninsula and nearby islands. Thousands of fishermen from both countries count on these waters for their livelihoods and, in the case of North Korea, for helping to feed a populace that desperately needs food.
The North contends that the line is arbitrary and invalid. Indeed, according to a spokesman for the United Nations Command, the North said it would not discuss Saturday's shootout until it could first talk about abolishing the line in the sea.
A South Korean naval petty officer, Hwang Chang Kyu, who was wounded in the fighting, said in an interview on the state-controlled Korea Broadcasting System that he had never imagined the North Korean patrol boat would shoot until "I saw a glint of bright light from the enemy ship, and a moment later, our ship was ablaze."
I see that Kirk (and the NY times) are remaining unbiased.
The North is only "irritated" over "valued fishing grounds" ..... and so for the last fifty years have remained on a war footing, starving their own people and maintaining a huge Army while attacking the South.
But the North Korean Communistic attacks on democratic South Korean ships are justified because it is "irritated".
I've been doing business with the Koreans for a long time and the comparison I usually draw for people is to ask if they've ever watched "Star Trek" and then tell them that dealing with Koreans is like negotiating with Klingons.
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