VARIOUS: NORTH AND SOUTH KOREA BLAME EACH OTHER FOR SEA BATTLE THAT KILLED 4 SOUTH KOREANS AND CAST SHADOW OVER SOUTH'S RECONCILIATION EFFORTS

Record ID: 640775

  • Title: VARIOUS: NORTH AND SOUTH KOREA BLAME EACH OTHER FOR SEA BATTLE THAT KILLED 4 SOUTH KOREANS AND CAST SHADOW OVER SOUTH'S RECONCILIATION EFFORTS
  • Date: 29th June 2002
  • Summary: (U2) SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (JUNE 29, 2002) (REUTERS) LV: EXTERIOR OF SOUTH KOREAN DEFENCE MINISTRY SLV: BRIEFING BY SOUTH KOREAN DEFENCE MINISTRY IN PROGRESS SCU: (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) LIEUTENANT GENERAL LEE SANG-HEE FROM JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF, SAYING: "North Korean warships started firing so we immediately fired back, that is how the exchange of fire occurred. Afterwards, until the North Korean ships retreated, the exchange of gunfire continued sporadically." VARIOUS OF LEE WITH MAP SHOWING WHERE INCIDENT OCCURRED (3 SHOTS)
  • Embargoed: 14th July 2002 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: SEOUL AND BUNDANG, SOUTH KOREA / PYONGYANG, NORTH KOREA / AT SEA
  • City:
  • Country: Korea, Democratic People's Republic of
  • Topics: International Relations,Defence / Military
  • Reuters ID: LVA53ORADQ8KLKLUN10I6VZEKXNW
  • Story Text: North and South Korea have blamed each other for a sea battle that killed four South Koreans and cast a shadow over the South's reconciliation efforts on the peninsula.
    South Korea on Saturday (June 29) said North Korean ships intruded across their disputed sea border and fired on its boats, killing four and wounding 19 South Korean sailors.
    One South Korean sailor was missing.
    North Korea said it was the other way around, accusing the South of a "grave provocation".
    Seoul's defence ministry said one South Korean vessel was sunk in the Yellow Sea 170 km (105 miles) west of Inchon International Airport, through which tens of thousands of World Cup soccer visitors entered the country this month.
    North Korean vessels fired first, South Korean Lieutenant-General Lee Sang-hee told a news conference on Saturday.
    Lieutenant-General Lee, using maps to show where the firefight erupted, said two North Korean patrol ships briefly crossed the disputed maritime border -- the so-called Northern Limit Line -- 40 km (25 miles) west of Yeonpyongdo, an island west of the peninsula.
    "North Korean warships started firing so we immediately fired back, that is how the exchange of fire occurred.
    Afterwards, until the North Korean ships retreated, the exchange of gunfire continued sporadically," said Lee.
    South Korean President Kim Dae-jung held an emergency meeting of his National Security Council (NSC) to respond to the latest blow to his Nobel Prize-winning "Sunshine Policy"
    of reconciling with North Korea through aid, trade and reuniting families.
    "We can't tolerate the North and this is an obvious breach of the armistice agreement to increase tension on the peninsula," Kim said in a statement issued by his office.
    A statement by South Korean Defence Minister Kim Dong-shin said it was "unmistakably clear that the entire responsibility for this incident lies with North Korea".
    "Regarding this unbearable military attack, our government is protesting gravely and demanding North Korea's apology, punishment of those who are responsible for the incident and prevention of recurrence of the same incident," said Defence Ministry Spokesman Hwang Eui-don.
    On North Korea's official television station an anchorwoman read the following: "The South Korean army committed such a grave provocation as firing bullets and shells at patrol boats of the navy of the Korean People's Army on routine coastal guard duty in the west sea of Korea today."
    North Korea's official Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) quoted a military source who gave the North's side of the story of the two Koreas' deadliest naval clash in three years.
    "The South Korean army committed such a grave provocation as firing bullets and shells at patrol boats of the navy of the Korean People's Army on routine coastal guard duty in the west sea of Korea today," KCNA said.
    "In retaliation against this, (North Korea's) warships were compelled to take a self-defensive step. As a result, there was an exchange of fire between the two sides, causing losses."
    South and North Korea have been divided since the 1950-53 Korean War and are still technically at war because the fighting ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty.
    Kim had just days ago underscored that his "Sunshine Policy" of engaging North Korea while maintaining military readiness had ensured a safe World Cup in South Korea and co-host Japan.
    A secretary to Kim said the president would proceed with his planned trip to Japan on Sunday (June 30) to watch the World Cup final. But outdoor soccer-viewing parties on South Korea's western coast near the scene of the battle were cancelled.
    Hours before Saturday's clash, the United States said it had proposed to North Korea that a senior U.S. official visit Pyongyang next month to resume the high-level dialogue broken off at the start of the Bush administration's term.
    The United States maintains 37,000 troops in South Korea to deter a repeat of the North Korean invasion that sparked the Korean War. Most of the U.S. forces are dug in near the Demilitarised Zone separating the two Koreas -- one of the most heavily fortified frontiers in the world.
    The 20-minute morning firefight on Saturday occurred in the same area as a June 1999 battle in which dozens of North Korean sailors were killed following nine days of North Korean intrusions. That was the first naval clash since the 1950-53 Korean War.
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