S. Korean spy chief inspects tense sea border with N. Korea: official

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, Feb. 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's intelligence chief recently inspected
the tense western sea border with North Korea, an official said Wednesday, as the
communist state stepped up its coastline artillery training amid threats of
provocation.
The Feb. 21 inspection by Won Sei-hoon, head of the National Intelligence
Service, is the highest-level visit to the South Korean military bases near the
Northern Limit Line (NLL) since Pyongyang nullified all its military agreements
with Seoul last month.
North Korea, which claims to be preparing to launch a satellite that its
neighbors believe is actually a ballistic missile, has also warned of a
provocation near the border where clashes turned deadly in 1999 and 2002.
"Won visited the bases on Yeonpyeong and Baekryeong islands to boost the morale
of soldiers under stress from the high tension," a defense official said,
speaking on customary condition of anonymity.
The official added North Korea continues to conduct its weekly firing drill near
the NLL. The country, which remains technically at war with the South as the
1950-53 Korean War ended in a ceasefire, has unmasked a larger portion of its
coastline artillery and intensified its training in recent months, South Korean
officials say.
The most recent firing drill took place on Tuesday on a shore just 20 kilometers
east of Baekryeong Island, the official said.
It was conducted in two separate sessions during the daytime, but no particular
signs of provocation were detected, he added.
The NLL was drawn at the end of the Korean War by the U.S.-led U.N. command.
North Korea claims it should be pushed further south.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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