Koreas clash in Yellow Sea, raise tension ahead of Obama trip

(ATTN: UPDATES with comments from defense minister in paras 6 and 17 and last two
paras; RESTRUCTURES; DELETES last para for clarity)
By Sam Kim

SEOUL, Nov. 10 (Yonhap) -- North and South Korea collided Tuesday in their first
naval engagement in seven years, raising tension as U.S. President Barack Obama
prepares to visit the Asian region next week and calibrate steps to deal with
Pyongyang.
The North Korean Navy had exchanged gunfire with its South Korean counterpart in
1999 and 2002 near the Yellow Sea border that extends from the tense
Demilitarized Zone separating the two countries.
North Korea disputes the de facto maritime border known as the Northern Limit
Line (NLL), which was drawn by a U.S. general at the end of the 1950-53 Korean
War that ended in a truce.
According to Joint Chiefs of Staff officials in Seoul, a North Korean patrol boat
crossed the NLL at 11:27 a.m. and attacked a South Korean one after ignoring
several warning shots.
The South Korean side suffered no casualties in the clash that erupted shortly
after the crossing and lasted about two minutes, R. Adm. Lee Ki-shik told
reporters here.
Defense Minister Kim Tae-young said in a parliamentary hearing that he could not
immediately verify media reports suggesting that one North Korean sailor was
killed, while a few were wounded.
In the two previous skirmishes, South Korea's Navy estimated dozens of North
Koreans were killed. Six South Korean sailors were killed in 2002.
South Korean Prime Minister Chung Un-chan told lawmakers in an earlier
parliamentary session that the North Korean vessel returned "wrapped in flames."
"This is a regrettable incident in which the North directly aimed at the South.
We protest sternly," Lee, the Navy officer said in the briefing, adding about 15
of 50 rounds fired by the North landed on the South Korean boat.
The naval boats were a little over 3 kilometers away from each other when they
exchanged fire, he added.
South Korean officials said their side retaliated by firing back about 200 rounds
with guns aboard the naval ship, which they say is more modernized than its North
Korean counterpart.
North Korea disputed the South Korean accounting of the latest skirmish, claiming
the South sent a "group of warships" across the border to attack its boat
returning to port after a routine patrol.
The "combat-ready" North Korean patrol boat "lost no time to deal a prompt
retaliatory blow at the provokers," the Korean People's Army said in a statement
carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
Chung, the South's prime minister, said the clash was "accidental," while a
Unification Ministry official dismissed speculation it would dampen increasing
exchanges between the two countries.
"There are no restrictive measures, such as minimizing the number of visitors to
the North and other artificial control measures, under consideration," Chun
Hae-sung said.
President Lee Myung-bak convened an emergency security meeting, calling on the
military to "react decisively, yet calmly to make sure the situation does not
further deteriorate," Lee Dong-kwan, a presidential aide, said in a release.
But Defense Minister Kim said Lee expressed concern that the North may retaliate,
even though "no additional moves" by the North Korean military were detected
north of the heavily armed border.
South Korean analysts gave mixed views about North Korea's possible motive behind
the incident, which took place only a week ahead of an Asian trip by U.S.
President Barack Obama.
"It appears to be a move to raise tension ahead of Obama's visit to South Korea,"
said Yoo Ho-yeol, a North Korea professor at Korea University in Seoul. "North
Koreans believe tension helps them strengthen their bargaining power."
Ryu Gil-jae, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul,
disagreed, saying the incident appeared aimed at testing the South Korean
government.
"North Korea would have test-fired missiles if it had wanted to vex the U.S.," he
said. "The Yellow Sea clash is more of a message to the South that it should be
taken more seriously."
The clash came amid an accelerating thaw between the Koreas, whose relations
turned frosty following the inauguration of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak
early last year.
It also came as French President Nicolas Sarkozy's special North Korea envoy was
in the communist state for talks with its foreign minister on "matters of mutual
concern," according to the KCNA.
Slapped with sanctions for its May nuclear test, North Korea has in recent months
extended peace overtures to the outside world, while South Korean media
speculated the two Koreas were working secretly to set up summit talks.
Kang Sung-yoon, a North Korea specialist at Seoul's Dongguk University, said the
North Korean attack on the South appears to serve more than one purpose.
"It could be aimed at pressuring both the U.S. and South Korea to engage in
dialogue with Pyongyang more seriously," he said while warning against jumping to
a conclusion on the motive.
Defense Minister Kim also said he has yet to be sure about the motive, suspecting
that the attack may have been planned considering that the North Korean boat
retained communications with its command during the crossing.
"But on the other hand, it is not easy to conclude that a provocation would be
conducted with only one ship," he told the lawmakers.
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)