Yellow Sea, exchange of fire between ships of two Koreas

Seoul (AsiaNews / Agencies) – An exchange of fire this morning between warships of the two Koreas, off the west coast of the peninsula. The South Korean Yonhap News agency reports that the accident occurred at 11:27 local time, in the waters of the Yellow Sea. To trigger the exchange, which lasted about two minutes, a North Korean boat that crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the sea border west of the Korean peninsula, the centre of a decade’s long dispute between the two Koreas.

The versions provided by the two governments, regarding the accident, differ. Seoul officials claim that a North Korean ship returned home "engulfed in flames" after a brief but intense exchange of fire in South Korean waters on the west coast.  

Pyongyang denies the story of the South, an official said that Seoul should "apologize" for having targeted one of its ships on its way back to port after conducting a "routine mission" in its waters.  

It is the third such incident between Navy ships of the two Koreas, since the clashes of 1999 (pictured) and 2002. So far no official victims have been reported. The South Korean President Lee Myung-bak presided over a meeting of the National Security Committee and has called for "restraint" in dealing with the situation.

International analysts and North Korean policy experts disagree on the reasons behind the incident. Yoo Ho-yeol, professor at the University of Seoul, believes the overrunning of the North Korean ship, was "a move to raise the tension ahead of the trip to South Korea by U.S. President Obama." Ryu Gil-jae, who is also a professor, disagrees with his colleague’s thesis and explaines that it is "a test aimed at the South Korean government." "The clash in the Yellow Sea – he adds - is more a message to the South, to take more seriously the positions of [Pyongyang]."  

Kang Sung-yoon, an expert on North Korean from University of Dongguk, asks for time: "we must look at the details of the incident – he comments - to understand what were the true intentions of North Korea."