The staff in Seoul reported that North Korea's ship burst into the northern border line (NLL, Northern Limit Line), which is the actual sea border between Koreas. It happened northwest of the island of Baengnyeong around 5 am Korean time (22:00 on Thursday in Poland).
“Our army gave a warning signal and fired a warning shot, after which the North Korean trade ship withdrew from our territorial waters,” the command informed. “We carefully monitored North Korea's movements and reacted according to operational procedures.”
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A warning ordering the ship immediately to north was given at least four times between 5:07 and 6:12 in the morning of Korean time – according to radio transmission analysis on sea waves carried out by NK News.
The message contained a threat of raw reaction if the ship invades the waters controlled by South Korea, and the request that the ship should go north to avoid escalation of tension.
It is not known if the North Korean ship influenced South Korea's territorial waters. North Korea has not yet commented on this incident.
NLL has long been a spare tension between Koreas, and North Korea has been arguing about its status since the 1970s. Last year North Korea leader Kim Jong Un condemned NLL, calling it “illegal and unlawful”, calling for the redefinition of the country's borders.
