Yet another North Korean fishing vessel has crossed the Northern Limit Line in the West Sea and been ordered to return to North Korean waters by the ROK Navy.
According to the military official who released the news this lunchtime, “A single North Korean fishing vessel crossed the NLL to the east of Yeonpyeong Island at 9:38PM last night and travelled 0.4 nautical miles south. One of our naval speedboats was immediately dispatched, and the vessel retreated as soon as it was issued with a warning.”
Seven similar violations of the NLL by fishing vessels have occurred this month alone. However, it is the first such violation to occur at night.
“We think that they may have been testing our nighttime naval readiness,” the official said. “It is rare for North Korean fishing vessels to cross the NLL at night, so we are watching what is going on in North Korea very closely.”
The latest case is particularly suspicious because it is currently the blue crab fishing season, and that is something that occurs almost exclusively in the daytime.As such, the military authorities wonder whether the fishing vessel was populated by soldiers rather than ordinary fishermen.
