By Ko Dong-hwan
After the South Korean Navy fired warning shots at two North Korean vessels that intruded beyond the de facto western maritime border into South Korean waters on Friday morning, the North warned that it will not hesitate to fire upon any ship that trespasses into their territorial waters.
The General Staff of the North's Army said in a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency on Saturday that the South Korean navy fired the warning shots according to their "premeditated plot" to heighten inter-Korean tension.
"The reckless military provocation was evidently prompted by a premeditated sinister plot to bedevil North-South relations and further aggravate the tensions on the Korean Peninsula," the statement said.
"From now on, we will open fire on any warship of the South Korean puppet forces without warning if it intrudes even 0.001mm beyond the Military Demarcation Line of the West Sea."
A fishing boat and a patrol boat from the North crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL) by some 700 to 800 meters at 7:30 a.m., Friday. The South Korean Navy fired five warning shots at them. The Joint Chief of Staff said the North Korean vessels returned to the North's waters at 7:38 a.m.
It was the second time that a vessel from the North has crossed into South Korean territorial waters this year. The first time was on Feb 8, a day after Pyongyang launched a long-range rocket, which was widely seen as a cover to test the regime's intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) technology. At the time, a North Korean patrol boat crossed the NLL, but retreated after the South Korean Navy fired warning shots.
After the South Korean Navy fired warning shots at two North Korean vessels that intruded beyond the de facto western maritime border into South Korean waters on Friday morning, the North warned that it will not hesitate to fire upon any ship that trespasses into their territorial waters.
The General Staff of the North's Army said in a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency on Saturday that the South Korean navy fired the warning shots according to their "premeditated plot" to heighten inter-Korean tension.
"The reckless military provocation was evidently prompted by a premeditated sinister plot to bedevil North-South relations and further aggravate the tensions on the Korean Peninsula," the statement said.
"From now on, we will open fire on any warship of the South Korean puppet forces without warning if it intrudes even 0.001mm beyond the Military Demarcation Line of the West Sea."
A fishing boat and a patrol boat from the North crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL) by some 700 to 800 meters at 7:30 a.m., Friday. The South Korean Navy fired five warning shots at them. The Joint Chief of Staff said the North Korean vessels returned to the North's waters at 7:38 a.m.
It was the second time that a vessel from the North has crossed into South Korean territorial waters this year. The first time was on Feb 8, a day after Pyongyang launched a long-range rocket, which was widely seen as a cover to test the regime's intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) technology. At the time, a North Korean patrol boat crossed the NLL, but retreated after the South Korean Navy fired warning shots.
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