A North Korean naval vessel briefly violated the Northern Limit Line in the vicinity of Baekryeong Island this morning, the South Korean military has reported.
“A North Korean patrol boat crossed the NLL and sailed 0.36km into waters east of South Korea’s Baengnryeong Island at about 11AM while working to stop Chinese fishing boats illegally operating there,” a military official revealed, adding that the vessel retreated into North Korean waters seven minutes later when a warning was issued by a South Korean vessel in the area.
Meanwhile, Democratic United Party presidential candidate Moon Jae In came out again in support of a joint West Sea fishing zone for the area today.
Moon, who was speaking at an event in Daegu this morning, commented, “I really want to ask Park Geun Hye: isn’t this the best way to repeat the West Sea Battle, the Cheonan and the Yeonpyeong attack? The NLL has to be maintained peacefully, and if there is a better way to do that than establishing a South-North joint fishing zone, I’d like to know more about it.”
Moon went on, “Such a joint fishing area would maintain the NLL, and by establishing a fixed area would give our fishermen all the benefits of fishing in North Korean waters as well as their own. If we follow this path, the North would not be able to demand re-designation of the NLL, we would stop clashes between North and South, and South Korean fishermen would be able to cross the NLL and get the benefits of fishing in North Korean waters.”
