South Korea fires warning shots at North Korean ship after it breaches sea border

The ship fired dozens of warning shots

As per The Independent and Al Jazeera, the incident happened at around 5am local time (20:00 GMT Thursday) after a North Korean boat crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL) near the South Korean island of Baengnyeong.

The South Korean military said that the merchant vessel reportedly remained on the South Korean side for an hour, encroaching about 5km south of the demarcation line.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement: “Our military broadcasted a warning and fired warning shots, after which the North Korean merchant ship retreated from our territorial waters,” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement.

“Our military closely monitored North Korea’s movements and responded in accordance with operational procedures.”

Authorities report that dozens of warning shots were fired by the South Korean military who were conducting operations in the area at the time.

The non-military North Korean ship retreated after these shots were fired.

North Korea has not commented on the incident.

The JCS added in its statement: “We will firmly maintain our readiness posture and respond resolutely to any situation to safeguard the NLL."

It is the first time that a North Korean ship has infringed the line of demarcation for three years with the last incident happening in October 2022, also involving a merchant ship.

However, during that particular incident, North Korea's military fired 10 rounds of warning artillery shells into South Korean waters in response to South Korean warning shots.

The maritime border on the Korean Peninsula was established after the Korean War ended in 1953.

North Korea do not recognise this maritime border, claiming the it should lie further to the south of the current line.

Households urged to buy one crucial item to prepare for war

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This is because this type of radio doesn’t need power from the National Grid, which may be disrupted during a crisis.

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