S.Korea Rejects DPRK Accusation of Military Provocation

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, November 13, 2002

S.Korea Rejects DPRK Accusation of Military Provocation

South Korea rejected an accusation by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) that the south's warships entered the territorial waters of the north side in the Yellow Sea late on Tuesday.

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South Korea rejected an accusation by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) that the south's warships entered the territorial waters of the north side in the Yellow Sea late on Tuesday.

Sources close to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) were quoted by the national news agency Yonhap News as saying that "the South Korean navy boats definitely confirmed the positions of the north side's fishing boats this afternoon, who were doing fishing near the Northern Limit Line (NLL), and the weather conditions were bad at that time."

The DPRK has previously not accepted the concept of the NLL, citing it is illegal.

The South Korean Defense Ministry also refuted the DPRK's allegation that the South Korean military had sent an armored vehicle into the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), and was quoted by Yonhap as saying, "It is impossible, for transporting heavy weapons into the DMZ is definitely a violation of the armistice agreement signed after the Korean War (1950-1953). And it is unreasonable to do that especially when we are clearing the landmines in the DMZ for the inter-Korean railways and roads."

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) accused South Korean forces on Tuesday of committing military provocation against the DPRK both on the Yellow Sea and in the DMZ.

DPRK Accuses South Korea of Military Provocation

South Korean forces committed military provocation against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Tuesday both on the Yellow Sea and in areas close to the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

Eleven South Korean warships infiltrated into the territorial waters south of Kuwol Hill, Kangryong Country, South Hwanghae Province and threatened its peaceful fishing boats, the KCNA reported, without giving exact casualties on either side.

On the same day, South Korean forces sent an armored vehicle and two self-propelled guns to the area near MDL marker No. 1080 on the eastern front and entered the demilitarized zone, a DPRK military source was quoted by the KCNA as saying.

The South Korean side committed similar military provocations against the DPRK near the MDL from Nov. 1-5 and on Nov. 11, the source added.

The 146-km MDL divides the Korean Peninsula and each side has a demilitarized zone of two km wide.

The armistice agreement, signed by the DPRK, China and the United States when the Korean War ended in 1953, prohibits heavy weapons entering the demilitarized zones.

"These grave military provocations do not benefit the fellow countrymen but are helpful to the US anti-DPRK moves," the KCNA said.

The DPRK and South Korean military forces exchanged fire on the Yellow Sea last June, leaving four South Koreans dead and one missing.

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