Free Republic

NATO officials and diplomats are assembling for an “extraordinary meeting” on Monday with Ukrainian officials following a naval clash between Ukraine and Russia off Crimea’s coast, the military alliance announced. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg scheduled the NATO-Ukraine Commission meeting at the request of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, reports noted. Stoltenberg made contact with the commission and scheduled the meeting after Russian naval forces fired on Ukrainian vessels attempting to enter the Kerch Strait, which is a vitally important waterway that connects Ukraine’s port city of Mariupol to the Black and Mediterranean seas. Russia has steadily tightened its control of the...

/begin my translation N. Korea's Shore-to-ship Missile System Activated For an Hour Some ships in Baekryung and Yonpyung Island evacuated. Two Squadrons of high speed patrol boats readied for rapid response (Seoul = Yonhap News) Kim Kwi-keun = (S. Korean) Military went on alert after detecting that N. Koreans turned on the fire-control radar for shore-to-ship missiles deployed along N. Korean area(shore) north of Yonpyung Island in the West Sea, according to the military authorities on Nov. 15 The military sources said, "Approximately at 1 PM today, we detected that the fire-control radar for N. Korea's multiple shore-to-ship missile bases...

(3rd LD) N. Korea threatens 'merciless' action to defend sea border with S. Korea By Sam Kim and Kim Hyun SEOUL, Nov. 13 (Yonhap) -- North Korea threatened "merciless" military action Friday to defend its maritime border with South Korea, demanding an apology for a naval skirmish earlier this week off their west coast. The statement by the chief of North Korea's military delegation is a response to the protest his South Korean counterpart lodged hours after the navies of the two countries engaged briefly near the Northern Limit Line (NLL) on Tuesday, officials here said. South Korea suffered no...

(LEAD) N. Korean boat tugged to port after skirmish with S. Korean Navy By Sam Kim SEOUL, Nov. 12 (Yonhap) -- The North Korean patrol boat that retreated in flames after a skirmish with the South Korean Navy earlier this week was tugged on its last stretch toward port, an official here said Thursday. The boat apparently suffered damage when it exchanged gunfire Tuesday with South Korean naval vessels near the Northern Limit Line that separates the Koreas in the western waters off their peninsula. No South Korean sailors were killed, but North Korea reportedly suffered one death and three...

S. Korea denies rumors of N. Korean moves near tense west sea border By Sam Kim SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea on Wednesday denied unidentified rumors that a pair of North Korean naval boats approached the western maritime border where the navies of the two countries exchanged gunfire a day earlier. "There is no particular situation developing. The waves are high, also forcing fishing vessels to stay off the waters," Park Sung-woo, spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters. The rumors that two North Korean vessels closed in on the boundary early Wednesday morning had circulated...

2009/11/10 15:43 KST N. Korea demands apology from South over naval clash SEOUL, Nov. 10 (Yonhap) -- North Korea demanded an apology from South Korea over a naval clash on the western sea border on Tuesday, calling the skirmish a "grave armed provocation" by the South that targeted a patrol boat on routine duty. "Today the north side let a patrol boat of the Navy of the KPA (Korean People's Army) on routine guard duty promptly go into action to confirm an unidentified object that intruded into the waters of its side," the North's Supreme Command of the KPA said...

Fears of Naval Clash Growing There are growing fears that the two Koreas could clash again near the Northern Limit Line, the de-facto border in the West Sea which the North refuses to recognize. As a result of a surprise attack by the North Korean Navy in 2002, six South Korean sailors were killed and the patrol boat Chamsuri 357 went down, creating deep resentment in the South Korean Navy. There were about 30 North Korean casualties in the clash. North Korea has since reinforced equipment, including installing new guns on ships, and intensified exercises. During the first Yeonpyeong Sea...

/begin my excerpts N. Korea: Chinese Fishing Vessels All Disappeared Near Disputed Yellow Sea Area A fisherman "A development similar to previous naval clashes," the authorities wary (Inchon = Yonhap News) Choi Jung-in = While tension continues amid series of hard-line rhetoric from N. Korea, Chinese fishing vessels suddenly disappeared near the five Yellow Sea Islands, prompting speculation on its cause. /snip In 1999 and 2002, when First and Second Yonpyong Naval Battle(aka Crab War I, II: firefights between both Koreas' navy,) Chinese vessels disappeared all at the same time a few days before the battles, and residents here are...

N. Korean Navy warns of naval clash in Yellow Sea By Lee Joon-seung SEOUL, Oct. 9 (Yonhap) -- The North Korean Navy warned Thursday that repeated violations of its water by South Korean warships is raising the possibility of a clash in the Yellow Sea. The announcement by the Navy Command carried by the (North) Korea Central news Agency, said it will deal firmly with any violations of its sovereignty.

NKorea Warns SKorea Over Border Dispute By JAE-SOON CHANG Associated Press Writer Published May 21, 2007, 5:26 AM CDT SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea's navy on Monday accused South Korea of sending warships into its waters off the divided peninsula's west coast, warning the South would face unspecified "consequences" if the alleged provocations continue. The South's Defense Ministry rejected the North's accusation. "We never violated the Northern Limit Line," said a ministry official, referring to the U.N.-drawn sea border. The official spoke on condition of anonymity citing policy. The North's navy command claimed that the South's "warlike forces infiltrated"...

N.Korea Voices Regret over Sea Clash -S.Korea July 25, 2002 03:56 AM SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea sent a letter to South Korea on Thursday expressing regret over a naval clash last month which killed five southern sailors, thus reversing a combative stance over an incident that soured ties, a Seoul official said. The telegram by North Korean cabinet official Kim Ryong-sung to South Korean Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun also proposed working-level talks early next month, a unification ministry spokesman told Reuters. The proposed meeting would discuss higher-level meetings and a resumption of stalled reconciliation projects, including the restoration of...