From Thu Jun 05 11:57:55 1997
>Date: Thu, 05 Jun 1997 10:52:09 -0700
>From: Mike Potter
>Reply-To: mike.potter@artecon.com
>Organization: Artecon, Inc.
>X-Mailer: Mozilla 3.01Gold (WinNT; I)
>To: mahan@microwrks.com
>Subject: North Korean patrol boat fires at South Korean ship
>Precendence: bulk
>Sender: mahan-owner@microworks.net
>
>North Korean patrol boat fires at South Korean ship
>___________________________________________________
>Copyright (c) 1997 Nando.net
>Copyright (c) 1997 The Associated Press
>
>SEOUL, South Korea (June 5, 1997 10:43 a.m. EDT) — A North Korean
>patrol boat violated the nautical border Thursday and fired at a South
>Korean navy ship before retreating to the North, South Korea said.
>
>No casualties were reported in the intrusion, the most serious since a
>North Korean submarine carrying 26 armed spies and crewmen ran aground
>off South Korea’s east coast in September. That incident raised tensions
>between the two Koreas, which are still technically at war.
>
>The Defense Ministry said the North Korean ship crossed into South
>Korea’s territorial waters on the west coast at about 1:30 p.m. local
>time, or 12:30 a.m. EDT, Thursday and fired three rounds from a naval
>gun at a South Korean patrol boat.
>
>The South Korean high-speed gunboat responded with two shots of its own,
>the ministry said. Two other South Korean gunboats had joined it just
>after the North Korean ship crossed over.
>
>The confrontation continued for an hour before the North Korean ship
>sailed back into its own waters, the ministry said.
>
>The ministry initially said there were three North Korean boats.
>
>Because the North Korean ship was escorting fishing boats, the intrusion
>appeared to be unintentional, but the ministry said it would
>investigate.
>
>The Defense Ministry said it was not increasing the South Korean armed
>forces’ level of alertness because of the incident.
>
>But South Korea considered it serious enough to convene an emergency
>meeting of security-related Cabinet ministers, the national news agency
>Yonhap reported. Kwon’s office would not confirm the report.
>
>The government said it will protest the North’s intrusion to the U.N.
>Armistice Commission that monitors the shaky Korean truce that ended the
>1950-53 Korean War.
>
>In last fall’s manhunt by South Korean soldiers, 24 North Koreans were
>killed or found dead. Eleven South Korean soldiers and civilians were
>also killed. One sailor was captured, and another intruder was listed as
>missing.
>
>North Korean patrol ships have violated South Korean waters several
>times in the past year but Thursday’s incident was the first time
>northern ships had fired at their South Korean enemies.
>
>The border between the Koreas is the world’s most heavily armed, with
>nearly 2 million troops standing guard on both sides.
>
>–

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