TOKYO -- A brief naval skirmish erupted Tuesday between North and South Korea, raising tension in Northeast Asia as President Obama prepares this week for a visit to the region. The North and the South blamed each other for the exchange of gunfire -- the first such clash in seven years. South Korean officials said a badly damaged North Korean patrol ship retreated in flames after crossing into South Korean waters.

It was not clear whether there were any injuries or deaths aboard the North Korean vessel. North Korea issued a statement that blamed the South for "grave armed provocation," saying that ships from South Korea crossed into the North's territory.

There were no reports of South Korean casualties.

North Korea has complained for decades about the sea border, known as the Northern Limit Line, which was drawn by the U.S. military at the end of the Korean War in 1953. There have been two previous skirmishes in the region, with North Korea's aging naval ships taking a pounding from South Korea's far more modern and better-armed vessels.

The Tuesday incident appeared unlikely to break the momentum of recent moves by North Korea to improve relations with the South and the United States, which had further deteriorated this year after the North tested a nuclear device, launched a flurry of missiles and repeatedly threatened "all-out war."

Still, in Washington, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs warned North Korea that "we hope that there will be no further actions in the Yellow Sea that could be seen as an escalation."

On Monday, administration officials said Obama has decided to send a special envoy to Pyongyang for direct talks on the North's nuclear weapons program.

No date has been set, but it would be the first one-on-one talks since Obama took office in January.

Obama is expected to visit Seoul next week, as part of a 10-day Asia trip.

South Korean Defense Minister Kim Tae-young told lawmakers in Seoul on Tuesday that "no additional moves" by the North Korean military were detected after the naval skirmish.

Earlier clashes along the western sea border, even when they resulted in many casualties on the North Korean side, have not had a long-term destabilizing effect on North-South relations.

Those relations have improved markedly since August, when North Korea seemed to shift from a pattern of confrontation to one of consultation with the South about economic programs. Visits between families long separated by the Korean War have resumed, and South Korea has said it would restart a limited program of food aid for the North.
Analysts in Seoul told reporters that North Korea may have started the skirmish to ensure that Obama does not ignore Pyongyang during his first visit to the region as president.

According to the South Korean military, a North Korean patrol boat crossed the sea border shortly before noon, ignored several warning shots from nearby South Korean naval vessels and fired its guns at a patrol boat from the South.

Ships from the two countries were about two miles apart when they exchanged fire, said Rear Adm. Lee Ki-shik, according to Yonhap, a South Korean news agency.

The North's official Korean Central News Agency said that the South sent a "group of warships" across the border to stage an attack but that one of the North's patrol boats "lost no time to deal a prompt retaliatory blow at the provokers."

N.Korea to continue artillery fire near sea border

Wed, Jan 27, 2010
AFP


SEOUL, Jan 27, 2010 (AFP) - North Korea will continue firing exercises near its disputed sea border with South Korea, Pyongyang's official media reported Wednesday, hours after the two militaries exchanged fire in the area.

"Such firing drill by the units of the KPA will go on in the same waters in the future," the (North) Korean People's Army General Staff said in a statement.

South Korea's defence ministry condemned North Korea's artillery fire earlier Wednesday as "a gravely provocative act" and warned it would respond sternly to any future incidents.


North Korean land-based artillery batteries fired intermittently for more than an hour into the sea north of the borderline, Seoul officials said. South Korean Marines responded by firing warning shots from Vulcan cannons. No casualties or damage were reported.

The North's army said it staged an annual artillery live firing drill. "No one can argue about the premeditated exercises staged by KPA units in waters of the north side," it said.

The North's shells landed on its own side of the border, but the military reiterated it refuses to accept the frontier drawn by United Nations forces after the Korean War.

"There is only the extension of the Military Demarcation Line recognised by the DPRK (North Korea)..." it said

JANUARY 26, 2010, 8:15 P.M. ET
North Korea Fires Artillery; South Returns Fire - Yonhap


SEOUL (AFP)--North Korea fired artillery Wednesday near the disputed sea border with South Korea, prompting Seoul's military to return fire, the Yonhap news agency reported.

The South Korean news agency said the North fired several shells into the sea near the South Korean-controlled Baengnyeong Island in the Yellow Sea, following the North's declaration Tuesday of "no sail" zones in the area.

The news agency said Seoul's military fired back but there were no immediate further details. The defense ministry said it was checking the reports.

The South Korean military has confirmed that the North fired artillery near the border.

NKorea fires artillery rounds, raising tension

AP – South Korean Navy patrol boats ride at anchors at a naval base in Incheon, west of Seoul, South Korea, …
By HYUNG-JIN KIM, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 4 mins ago
SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea fired dozens of artillery shells toward its disputed sea border with South Korea on Wednesday, apparently to emphasize that the peninsula remains a war zone and push for a treaty to formally end the Korean War — a key demand of the nuclear-armed North.
Such a strategy, however, appears to have little chance of success as South Korea and the United States have insisted that Pyongyang return to international talks aimed at its denuclearization in exchange for aid and security guarantees before any treaty can be concluded.
South Korea immediately responded Wednesday with 100 warning shots from a marine base nearby after the North fired about 30 artillery rounds into the sea from its western coast in the morning, according to the South's Defense Ministry and Joint Chiefs of Staff.
No casualties or damage were reported, as the North's volleys landed in its own waters while the South fired into the air, the officials said.
It was the first exchange of fire between the two Koreas since a naval skirmish in November that killed one North Korean sailor and wounded three others. Wednesday's volleys by the North appeared aimed at raising tensions, and the likelihood of wider fighting seemed dim as long as the two sides show restraint.
The North resumed firing later Wednesday but the South didn't respond after issuing two warning broadcasts, two ministry and JCS officials said on condition of anonymity because of department policy.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported that the North is believed to have fired a total of about 100 artillery rounds throughout the day.
The western sea border — drawn by the American-led U.N. Command at the close of the 1950-53 Korean War — is a constant source of tension between the two Koreas, with the North insisting the line be moved farther south.
Besides November's clash, the two sides engaged in bloody naval skirmishes in 1999 and 2002.
The disputed area is a rich fishing ground. Boats from the two Koreas jostle for position during the May-June crab-catching season, and South Korea sometimes repatriates North Korean fishermen who stray into southern waters. The North also deliberately sends its warships across the border it feels was wrongly demarcated, while South Korean navy vessels routinely carry out patrols in the area.
The North's military said in a statement later Wednesday that it had fired artillery off its coast as part of an annual military drill and would continue doing so.
South Korean officials said the North designated two no-sail zones in the area, including some South Korean-held waters, from Monday through March 29, a possible indication the North may fire more artillery or even conduct missile tests. The North in December had designated an artillery "firing zone" along disputed the sea border.
Analysts say the North's show of firepower is primarily aimed at stoking military tension on the peninsula, thus sending a message to the U.S. about its demands for the signing of a Korean War peace treaty.
"North Korea is staging armed protests toward the U.S. to call for the urgency of signing the peace treaty," said Kim Yong-hyun, a North Korea expert at Seoul's Dongguk University.
Such a treaty is a coveted goal of Pyongyang, which argues it was compelled to develop nuclear weapons to cope with what is sees as a U.S. threat.
Washington and Pyongyang have never had diplomatic relations because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, leaving the peninsula technically at war. North Korea, the U.S.-led United Nations Command and China signed a cease-fire, but South Korea never did.
Earlier this month, the North announced its return to nuclear disarmament talks it quit last year hinges on improved ties with the U.S., including the signing of a peace treaty, and the lifting of sanctions. Washington and Seoul, however, have brushed aside the North's demands, saying it must first return to the disarmament negotiations and report progress in denuclearization.
Concluding a treaty would "remove the danger of outbreak of war and create atmosphere favorable for the denuclearization" the North's government-run Minju Joson newspaper said in a commentary carried by the official Korean Central News Agency Wednesday.
Yoo Ho-yeol, a professor of North Korean studies at Korea University in South Korea, said Pyongyang was also stoking military tensions to express anger over South Korea's lukewarm response to recent gestures seeking dialogue.
North Korea has sent a series of mixed signals to the South, balancing offers of dialogue on economic cooperation with military threats. South Korean Defense Minister Kim Tae-young, meanwhile, angered Pyongyang by saying Seoul's military should launch a pre-emptive strike if there was a clear indication the North was preparing a nuclear attack.
South Korea's Defense Ministry sent the North's military a message Wednesday expressing serious concern about the artillery firing and saying it fostered "unnecessary tension" between the two sides.
South Korean Unification Minister Hyun In-taek criticized Pyongyang for raising tension, but also said Seoul has no intention to cancel talks next week about a joint industrial complex in the North.
The Unification Ministry also intends to push ahead with a plan to send 10,000 tons of food aid to North Korea in what would be Seoul's first direct humanitarian assistance in about two years, according to a ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity citing department policy.
Korea University's Yu said that tensions are expected to last for some time.
"But it remains to be seen whether more serious military conflicts will take place," he added.
Despite the exchange of fire, the capitals of the two Koreas were calm Wednesday.
North Koreans in Pyongyang wearing thick winter coats walked briskly through the streets while a female police officer directed traffic and passengers rode on a crowded tram through the city, according to footage shot by broadcaster APTN.
The military tensions had little effect on South Korean financial markets. Seoul's benchmark stock index closed less than 1 percent lower for the day, while South Korea's currency, the won, rose against the U.S. dollar.

JANUARY 27, 2010, 1:59 A.M. ET
North Korea Fires More Artillery Shells Near Sea Border - Yonhap

SEOUL (AFP)--North Korea Wednesday fired more shells near its sea border with South Korea, the Yonhap news agency said, hours after its initial artillery drill sparked an exchange of fire between the two sides.

The news agency, quoting government sources, said the North resumed firing at around 3 p.m. (0600 GMT) after an initial salvo that began around 9 a.m.

It said land batteries fired dozens of shells that landed on the North's side of the border, near South Korea's Baengnyeong Island in the Yellow Sea.

The Seoul defense ministry said it was checking the report.

North Korea exchanges fire with neighbor
Seoul says 30-shot volley near disputed border fosters ‘unnecessary tension’


updated 4:30 a.m. PT, Wed., Jan. 27, 2010
SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea fired artillery rounds toward its disputed sea border with South Korea on Wednesday, prompting a barrage of warning shots from the South's military and raising tensions on the divided peninsula.

No casualties or damage were reported, and analysts said the volley — which the North announced was part of a military drill — was likely a move by Pyongyang to highlight the need for a peace treaty to formally end the Korean War.

North Korea fired about 30 artillery rounds into the sea from its western coast and the South immediately responded with 100 shots from a marine base on an island near the sea border, an officer at the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul said. The North said it would continue to fire rounds.


He said the North's artillery fire landed in its own waters while the South fired into the air. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because of department policy.

The western sea border — drawn by the American-led U.N. Command at the close of the 1950-53 Korean War — is a constant source of tension between the two Koreas, with the North insisting the line be moved farther south.

Navy ships of the two Koreas fought a brief gunbattle in November that left one North Korean sailor dead and three others wounded. They engaged in similar bloody skirmishes in 1999 and 2002.

North Korea issued a statement later Wednesday saying it had fired artillery off its coast as part of an annual military drill and would continue doing so.

No-sail zones
Such drills "will go on in the same waters in the future," the General Staff of the (North) Korean People's Army said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

The North fired more shots later Wednesday, but South Korea didn't respond, a Defense Ministry official said, also requesting anonymity due to department policy.

The exchange of fire came two days after the North designated two no-sail zones in the area, including some South Korean-held waters, through March 29.

The North has sent a series of mixed signals to the South recently, combining offers of dialogue on economic cooperation with military threats, including one this month to destroy South Korea's presidential palace. South Korean Defense Minister Kim Tae-young, meanwhile, angered Pyongyang by saying Seoul's military should launch a pre-emptive strike if there was a clear indication the North was preparing a nuclear attack.

South Korea's Defense Ministry sent the North's military a message Wednesday expressing serious concern about the firing and saying it fostered "unnecessary tension" between the two sides.

It also urged the North to retract the no-sail zones, calling them a "grave provocation" and a violation of the Korean War armistice. The war ended with a truce, but not a formal peace treaty.

'Quite disappointing'
Separately, South Korea's point man on North Korea criticized Pyongyang for raising tension near the sea border.

"This kind of North Korean attitude is quite disappointing," Unification Minister Hyun In-taek told a security forum in Seoul.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency said it was the first time that North Korea has fired artillery toward the sea border. The Joint Chiefs of Staff officer said the North Korean artillery shells were believed to have fallen into the no-sail zones about 1.75 miles north of the maritime border.

Top South Korean presidential secretary Chung Chung-kil convened an emergency meeting of security-related officials on behalf of President Lee Myung-bak, who was making a state visit to India, according to the presidential Blue House. It said Lee was informed of the incident.

Yoo Ho-yeol, a professor of North Korean studies at Korea University in South Korea, said the North's action was aimed at highlighting the need for a peace treaty to formally end the Korean War by showing that the peninsula is still a war zone.

"It's applying pressure on the U.S. and South Korea," Yoo said. He said North Korea also was expressing anger over South Korea's lukewarm response to a series of recent gestures seeking dialogue.


Earlier this month, North Korea called for the signing of a peace treaty and the lifting of sanctions as conditions for its return to stalled nuclear disarmament talks it quit last year.

The U.S. and South Korea, however, brushed aside the North's demands, saying they can happen only after it returns to the disarmament negotiations and reports progress in denuclearization.

Despite the exchange of fire, the capitals of the two Koreas were calm.

North Koreans in Pyongyang wearing thick winter coats walked briskly through the streets while a female police officer directed traffic and a crowded tram passed by, according to footage shot by broadcaster APTN.

The military tensions had little effect on South Korean financial markets. Seoul's benchmark stock index fell less than 1 percent, while South Korea's currency, the won, rose against the U.S. dollar.

Two Koreas trade fire

Reuters
By Jack Kim – Wed Jan 27, 2:31 am ET
SEOUL (Reuters) – North and South Korea exchanged artillery fire near their disputed sea border on Wednesday, highlighting instability along a heavily armed frontier for the second time in three months.
North Korea warned the South that more rounds were on the way as a part of military training, and then fired off another barrage a few hours after delivering the message in a state media report.
Analysts doubt the latest clash will escalate and see it more as an attempt by Pyongyang to stress tensions on the Korean peninsula and press home its demand for a peace deal that would open the way to international aid for its ruined economy.
"No one can argue about the premeditated exercises staged by Korean People's Army units in waters of the North side," the North's KCNA news agency quoted the general staff of the country's army as saying.
North Korea has more than 10,000 pieces of artillery aimed at the wealthy South and which could in a matter of hours destroy much of the capital Seoul, 25 miles from the border.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North fired artillery from land toward the South but landing on its side of the disputed sea border off the west coast.
South Korea returned fire from its coastal artillery.
"We want to express grave concern over the incident that resulted from the North's illegal act that unnecessarily creates tension through live-fire artillery fire," the South's Defense Ministry said in a message to the North.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency said the North probably fired about 30 rounds of artillery and Seoul responded with about three times the number.
The firing came when President Lee Myung-bak was traveling to Davos in Switzerland for the World Economic Forum after a state visit to India.
His office was quoted by Yonhap as saying both sides fired into the air and there were no casualties.
Earlier this week Pyongyang accused the South of declaring war by saying it would launch a pre-emptive strike if it had clear signs the North was preparing a nuclear attack.
RETURN TO TALKS ?
The latest clash also comes amid signals from Pyongyang it was ready to return after a year-long boycott to six-country talks -- between the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States -- on ending its atomic arms programme.
"North Korea may want to return to the six-party talks, but only to ease pressure on itself and gain more economic assistance, which it really needs now," said Zhang Liangui, who is an expert on North Korea at the Central Party School, a prominent institute in Beijing.
"So North Korea wants to control the pace of contacts with South Korea and the United States. Incidents such as this are a way for it to show that it can control how and when there is any progress," Zhang said.
In return for resuming disarmament negotiations, North Korea has demanded talks on a peace treaty with the United States to finally end the 1950-53 Korean War and the lifting of U.N. sanctions over its two nuclear tests.
Analysts say tightened sanctions since last year have badly hit the failing economy, especially its main export -- weapons.
There have also been overtures for dialogue with Seoul after two years of increasingly tense ties with the government of President Lee Myung-bak who has linked improved relations to action by the North to disarm and end the security risk affecting the peninsula and the rest of prosperous North Asia.
News of the firing rattled markets which soon recovered. Analysts saw little long-term impact from the standoff.
North Korea has declared a no-sail zone in the Yellow Sea waters for two months ending in late March, a sign it might be preparing to test fire missiles.
The area is near a contested sea border between the rival Koreas that was the site of a brief naval clash in November as well as deadly confrontations in previous years between the states which are technically still at war.
About a month before that clash, North Korea raised regional security concerns by firing short-range missiles off its east coast.
(Additional reporting by Jon Herskovitz, Christine Kim and Jungyoun Park in Seoul and Chris Buckley in Beijing; Editing by Jonathan Thatcher and Sanjeev Miglani)