South Korea’s military has fired warning shots towards a North Korean patrol vessel amid heightened tensions over Kim Jong Un’s latest missile test.
The incident happened at around 11am local time on Saturday, just two days after Pyongyang launched a new Hwasong-18 weapon that triggered a scare in northern Japan.
The North Korean boat was targeted by its neighbour’s forces after temporarily crossing the countries’ disputed western sea boundary, which was drawn up by the UN after the Korean War in 1953.
It was chasing a Chinese fishing boat at the time near South Korea‘s Baekryeong island, but quickly retreated.
As the South’s high-speed vessel responded to the incident, poor visibility caused it to collide with the fishing boat, which saw some troops on board suffer minor injuries.
South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff downplayed the collision, and said the military would remain on alert for any “potential provocations” by the North.
“Our military maintains decisive battle posture while monitoring the enemy’s movements,” it added.
South Korea to step up drills
Seoul has been staging major joint military years with the US in recent weeks – its biggest in years – to deter its neighbour from its increasingly provocative weapons testing programme.
Another exercise will begin on Monday and last until 28 April, involving some 110 warplanes.
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The North, meanwhile, has claimed its Hwasong-18 weapon – an intercontinental ballistic missile that could target mainland America – will “radically promote” the country’s nuclear counterattack capability.
Leader Kim is said to have “guided” this week’s test. His regime has test-fired more than 100 missiles into the sea since the start of 2022, but said the latest trial posed no threats to neighbouring countries.
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It came amid concern that the North has not responded to calls from the South on a set of cross-border hotlines, designed to prevent accidental clashes like Saturday’s incident, for more than a week.
The North doesn’t recognise the poorly marked UN border, arguing it should lie further south.
Previous clashes at sea included a deadly incident in 2010, when the South blamed the North for an attack on a warship that killed 46 soldiers.