Seoul hopes naval clash will not strain inter-Korean relations

By Byun Duk-kun

SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea does not want any new complications in its relations with North Korea from an armed skirmish between their naval forces earlier this week, an official at Seoul's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday.

"The government will continue to make full preparations against any possible
security developments so the people will not have to fear," Cheong Wa Dae
spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye told reporters.
"But the government does not want the inter-Korean relationship deteriorating due
to this incident," she added.
The comments come a day after President Lee Myung-bak ordered a decisive yet
composed reaction by the military to a North Korean vessel that entered South
Korean waters.
The naval clash occurred off the west coast on Tuesday, seven years after the
divided Koreas last exchanged fire near their sea border in the Yellow Sea.
President Lee had ordered his Defense Minister Kim Tae-young to make sure the
situation does not get any worse, but also noted the military must act
"decisively" if necessary.
South Korean officials said the North Korean patrol boat involved in the clash
was half destroyed as South Korean naval forces returned some 200 shots upon
being targeted by some 50 rounds of fire from the North side.
A top commander of the North Korean military demanded Seoul's apology only a few
hours after the incident, claiming its vessel was returning to port after
conducting routine patrol.
Seoul dismissed the claim, saying the clash was triggered by North Korean naval
ships violating the western sea border known as the Northern Limit Line (NLL) and
attacking South Korean ships that fired several warnings.
Pyongyang has been disputing the NLL in recent years although it has recognized
the line as a de facto border since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.
bdk@yna.co.kr