South Korea Fires Warning Shots After North Korean Patrol Boat Crosses Maritime Border

A South Korean Navy vessel fired warning shots to drive out a North Korean patrol boat that crossed the western de facto maritime border last week, the South's military said Sunday.

The North Korean boat crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in waters northeast of South Korea's Baengnyeong Island in the Yellow Sea on Saturday at 11 a.m., prompting the South Korean Navy to dispatch its Chamsuri-class patrol boat, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), Yonhap new agency reported.

After the North's boat remained unresponsive to South Korea's warning broadcasts and communication attempts, the South Korean vessel fired 10 warning shots with its autocannon and made the North Korean boat retreat.

The North Korean boat made the incursion as it was chasing a Chinese fishing boat, according to an informed source.

The JCS said there was contact between the South Korean vessel and the Chinese boat during the operation, and three of the South Korean sailors were sent to a hospital for injuries. One of them is known to have undergone surgery due to a fracture.

It marked the first time since March last year that the South has fired warning shots at a North Korean patrol boat crossing the NLL.

The JCS said the North's boat stayed south of the NLL for about 10 minutes, intruding past it by some 2 kilometers.

A JCS official told reporters the South sees a "low possibility" of the North's boat intentionally crossing the NLL, saying that it was seen chasing a Chinese vessel while sailing on a zigzagged path.

Tension remains high along the poorly defined border, the scene of a series of bloody naval clashes between the two Koreas. North Korea has never recognized the NLL, demanding that it be re-drawn further south.

The incident came as North Korea remains unresponsive to routine inter-Korean calls through the joint liaison office and the military hotline since April 7.

Some observers said the North may try to use the latest incursion as a pretext to prepare for sporadic provocative acts near the NLL.

In October 2022, a South Korean warship fired warning shots at a North Korean merchant vessel violating the NLL in the Yellow Sea. In response, the North's military opened its warning fire against the South.