The South Korean military fired warning shots at a northern patrol boat that had crossed the de facto maritime border between the two countries, Seoul announced Sunday. The ship breached the Northern Limit Line on Saturday morning near South Korea’s Baekryeong Island, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
The South Korean Navy’s high-speed ship sent warning messages and fired warning shots, after which it immediately diverted. During the operation, some South Korean crew members were injured after their ship collided with a Chinese fishing boat. The de facto maritime border, which has not been officially recognized by the North, has been a hotbed of conflict between the two Koreas.
Relations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points in years, and conflicts in the region have intensified since Pyongyang declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear power. In response, Seoul and Washington have stepped up their military cooperation with joint military exercises, which are seen by North Korea as a rehearsal for invasion. Tensions on the Korean peninsula have been high in recent years due to North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests, as well as the aggressive posture of the United States.
Pyongyang fired a ballistic missile across the line in 2020, prompting Seoul to launch three missiles in response. Amid this tense environment, the two Koreas have faced conflicts over the de facto maritime border, which remains an area of dispute.