South Koreans delay N. Korea visit after naval clash

By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Yonhap) -- Several private South Korean citizens were suspending
or delaying activities in North Korea following a naval skirmish with the
communist neighbor, although Seoul intends to keep cross-border projects intact,
the Unification Ministry said Wednesday.
President Lee Myung-bak called for calm after the navies of the two Koreas
exchanged fire near Baengnyeong Island in the Yellow Sea on Tuesday. South Korea
sustained no casualties, while a North Korean patrol boat apparently suffered
damage.
The ministry imposed no restrictive measures on inter-Korean visits, but there
were voluntary decisions to wait until tensions subside, said spokesman Chun
Hae-sung.
A sand-mining firm temporarily recalled its ship operating in Haeju, a North
Korean western seaside town, while several staff from South Korea's UNESCO branch
postponed a trip to Pyongyang, the ministry spokesman said.
"The sand-mining ship suspended work according to its owner's decision and
returned to the Incheon port early this morning," Chun said. He did not identify
the firm's name. "But the government has not taken any measures in relation to
non-governmental visits to North Korea."
As usual, hundreds of daily commuters will cross the inter-Korean land border to
a joint industrial park in the North's border town of Kaesong, Chun added.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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