The Hindu : S. Korea warns North against intrusion

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 03, 2002

International

International

S. Korea warns North against intrusion

SEOUL JULY 2. The South Korean President, Kim Dae-jung, said on Tuesday that he was ``enraged'' by a North Korean border intrusion that triggered a deadly naval skirmish and warned that the communist nation's military will suffer if it provokes South Korea again.

``If North Korea tries to hurt us again with military force, it will suffer much greater damage,'' Mr. Kim said in a nationally televised speech upon returning from a visit to Japan. ``I want to be clear about this.''

Earlier on Tuesday, South Korea's military said it will take a firmer stand against North Korean ships that violate its maritime border, vowing to issue fewer warnings before resorting to force.

While telling South Koreans that that he ``cannot help feeling enraged by the North Korean provocation,'' Mr. Kim promised to maintain his policy of trying to engage the isolated communist country.

``As long as we don't want war, we must have patience and continue our efforts to promote peace on the Korean peninsula,'' he said. ``We must all work to prevent war.'' Mr. Kim was returning from a three-day visit to Japan, where he watched the World Cup soccer championship match and discussed security concerns with Japanese leaders.

South Korea's navy was criticised as ill-prepared after an engagement on Saturday with two North Korean warships that intruded deep into South Korea's western waters.

The incursion touched off a 21-minute gun battle between patrol boats in which one South Korean boat was sunk, killing four sailors and wounding 19 others. One was listed as missing.

South Korean officials said the communist navy also was believed to have lost about 30 sailors, and have released a picture of a retreating North Korean warship trailing smoke.

The South Korean military responded on Tuesday by adopting new rules of engagement that give navy commanders the authority to fire their weapons sooner and at a distance — without as many intermediate warning steps — to repel North Korean naval ships that trespass across the poorly marked maritime border.

Previously, South Korean patrol boats were required to issue loudspeaker warnings, engage in threatening manoeuvring at close range, ram an intruder and fire warning shots before they were authorised to fire on the target.

Under the new rules, a South Korean commander can skip the loudspeaker warnings and keep at a distance when engaging in menacing manoeuvres and firing warning shots.

If the warning shots have no effect, then the South Korean boat may open fire on the intruder, said Ahn Gi-seok, a commodore at the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

— AP

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