Share

S Korea fires warning shots after N Korea incursion

Seoul - The South Korean navy fired warning shots Friday to end a brief incursion by a North Korean patrol boat across the sensitive maritime border, Seoul's defence ministry said.

It was the first such boundary violation in four months, and came ahead of Friday's opening ceremony of the Asian Games in the South Korean port city of Incheon, in which North Korea is participating.

The patrol boat came around 900metres inside the South side of the disputed Yellow Sea border shortly after midday, a defence ministry spokesperson said.

"One of our naval vessels gave a verbal warning by loudspeaker and then fired six warning rounds," the spokesman told AFP.

The North Korean ship returned across the border minutes later, he added.

The maritime boundary, which was unilaterally drawn by the US-led United Nations forces after the 1950-53 Korean War, was the scene of brief but bloody naval clashes in 1999, 2002 and 2009.

Suspected North Korean drone

The Korean conflict ended in an armistice instead of a peace treaty and technically the two Koreas are still at war.

Yonhap quoted an unidentified military official as saying the North Korean patrol boat had crossed the border to secure an apparently unmanned barge that had drifted into South Korean waters.

"It towed the barge back to the north," the official was quoted as saying.

Earlier this week, a South Korean fisherman found a suspected North Korean drone in his net near a frontline island close to the Yellow sea border.

The wreckage, without a wing, engine or camera, was recovered when it got caught in his net off Baengnyeong island.

In March and April, South Korea retrieved crashed drones equipped with cameras in three different places, including Baengnyeong island and the northern border city of Paju.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Do you think corruption-accused National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula will survive a motion of no confidence against her?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
No, her days are numbered
41% - 552 votes
Yes, the ANC caucus will protect her
59% - 795 votes
Vote
Rand - Dollar
18.88
+0.3%
Rand - Pound
23.85
+0.2%
Rand - Euro
20.37
+0.3%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.31
+0.3%
Rand - Yen
0.12
+0.3%
Platinum
908.05
0.0%
Palladium
1,014.94
0.0%
Gold
2,232.75
-0.0%
Silver
24.95
-0.1%
Brent Crude
87.00
+1.8%
Top 40
68,346
0.0%
All Share
74,536
0.0%
Resource 10
57,251
0.0%
Industrial 25
103,936
0.0%
Financial 15
16,502
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE