Posted on 05/29/2003 8:45:15 AM PDT by jerseygirl
N.Korea Accuses South of Sending Warships North
Thu May 29, 2003 09:11 AM ET By Samuel Len SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea accused South Korea of sending warships across a disputed sea border and warned Seoul further moves could lead to "irrevocable serious consequences," ratcheting up tensions on the divided Korea peninsula.
The North's warning, carried by the official KCNA news agency, followed what the South Korean Defense Ministry said was three successive days of incursions into southern waters by North Korean fishing boats, most recently Wednesday.
Tensions have been high on the Korean peninsula for more than seven months, since the United States said the communist North had revealed it was pursuing a secret nuclear arms program.
Even before that, there had been clashes between the two Koreas at sea. Last June and in 1999 there were deadly naval gun battles in the same Yellow Sea area off the west coast -- prime fishing grounds especially during the June crab catching season.
KCNA said a series of South Korean naval vessels of various types had crossed into what it said were northern waters in the past three days.
"The ceaseless infiltration of warships into the waters where serious military conflicts occurred last year cannot be construed otherwise than a premeditated and deliberate provocation on the part of the South Korean military to spark one more new shocking incident in these waters, joining the U.S. imperialists in their desperate 'nuclear racket'," it said.
The KCNA report added: "The South Korean military authorities should not misjudge the self-restraint of soldiers of the (North) Korean People's Army, but stop running amuck, well aware that any slightest military provocation may entail irrevocable serious consequences."
In a separate report, KCNA said North Korean leader Kim Jong-il had visited a naval base Wednesday, the latest in a series of military trips.
South Korea said two North Korean fishing boats intruded into its waters briefly Wednesday, the third crossing at the potential flashpoint in as many days.
South Korean naval vessels turned away the fishing boats by broadcasting warnings.
Seoul sent a message to Pyongyang through the South Korean Red Cross Wednesday, urging a halt to such incidents.
The de facto sea border is called the Northern Limit Line, or NLL. It was drawn by U.S.-led United Nations forces at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended without a peace treaty, leaving the two Koreas technically in a state of war.
North Korea has demanded a new sea frontier be drawn further to the south and in 1999 declared the NLL invalid.
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