Korean Border Tensions Heat Up With Warning Shots Near Sea Line

(Bloomberg) -- The two Koreas fired warning shots at each near a nautical border after Seoul said a merchant vessel from its neighbor crossed the line, adding to a recent series of provocations along one of the world’s most militarized boundaries.

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South Korea’s military said it fired warning shots after the North Korean vessel violated the western sea border at 3:42 a.m. Monday. Pyongyang responded by firing about 10 artillery shells less than two hours later toward a South Korean ship that landed on the north side of the line, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. No damage was reported to any vessel.

The exchange between the two Korea comes as the US and South Korea began joint naval drills in the Yellow Sea that are set to run for four days and include warships such as guided-missile destroyers. South Korea’s military said the nautical dispute and the drills occurred about 140 kilometers (90 miles) away from each other.

North Korea has tested border safety agreements in recent weeks by flying warplanes near South Korean airspace and firing scores of artillery shells off its coasts.

Pyongyang said it made the moves to warn South Korea against joint military drills with the US that in recent weeks have also included Japan. North Korea has also been showing its anger at the exercises by firing off one of its biggest barrages of ballistic missiles under leader Kim Jong Un, including shooting its first missile over Japan in five years.

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South Korea didn’t say how long it has been since it held joint drills with its American ally in the Yellow Sea, but the latest maneuvers may add to tensions with China, which has been bolstering its presence in the waters over the past few years. The headquarters of China’s North Sea Fleet sit across the waters in the port of Qingdao, and the deployment of new aircraft carriers requires more space to maneuver in the Yellow Sea.

The General Staff of North Korea’s army issued a statement shortly after the incident along the nautical border Monday, saying it was sending “a grave warning to the enemies,” the official Korean Central News Agency reported. Seoul called on its neighbor to stop raising tensions, saying it is harming peace and security on the peninsula.

While the armistice that ended the 1950-1953 Korean War spelled out land borders, there is no such agreement for the Yellow Sea border known as the Northern Limit Line. It was drawn unilaterally by US-led forces after the conflict, and waters around the boundary have been the site of clashes, including a 2010 incident where South Korea claimed North Korea torpedoed one of its warships south of the line, killing 46 sailors. North Korea has denied the accusation.

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The US and South Korea held naval drills in the Yellow Sea in 2010 after North Korea fired artillery shells at the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong near the NLL, killing two civilians and two marines. The incident came a few months after the sinking of the South Korean ship.

North Korea appears ready to take tensions to the highest levels in years, with the US, South Korea and Japan all saying that Kim’s regime is ready to test a nuclear device for the first time since 2017. North Korea may have been holding off on a test so as not to upset its biggest benefactor China as it was holding its Communist Party congress, which finished over the weekend.

Cheong Seong-chang, director of the Center for North Korean Studies at the Sejong Institute think tank in South Korea, said he suspects the nautical border incident was a calculated move by Pyongyang.

“It’s hard to imagine a North Korean merchant vessel to have crossed the Northern Limit Line, let alone around 3 in the morning,” Cheong said. “It’s highly likely the incident was intentionally planned to escalate tensions following China’s party congress.”

The US and South Korea are also due to hold joint air exercises next week that could include stealth fighters and bombers, which could draw a response from North Korea.

Any display of the weapons in leader Kim’s nuclear arsenal would serve as a reminder of the pressing security problems posed by Pyongyang that have simmered as US President Joe Biden’s administration has been focused on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

(Updates with naval drills in Yellow Sea.)

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