South Korea says it fired warning shots at a North Korean patrol boat that temporarily crossed the countries’ disputed western sea boundary while chasing an unarmed North Korean vessel.
The North Korean patrol boat crossed the so-called Northern Limit Line on Tuesday morning while pursuing the vessel in waters near South Korea's Baekryeong island and retreated after a South Korean naval ship fired warning shots, according to Seoul’s Defence Ministry and Joint Chiefs of Staff.
South Korea’s navy has often fired warning shots to repel North Korean vessels crossing the countries’ poorly marked sea border, but there also have been some deadly clashes over the years. South Korea blamed North Korea for an attack on a South Korean warship that killed 46 sailors in 2010, but the North has denied responsibility.
Tuesday’s incident came amid renewed tensions created by North Korea’s accelerating missile tests this year, including a launch on Saturday that the North said tested technologies for a spy satellite it is developing.