South Korea and North Korea exchanged warning shots along the disputed western sea boundary, according to South China Morning Post. The shots happened amid tensions over the weapon tests of North Korea.
According to South Korea, their navy fired warning shots to repel a North Korean merchant ship that it says violated the sea boundary. On the other hand, North Korea said that its coastal defense units responded by firing ten rounds of artillery warning shots toward its territorial waters.
North Korea also accused a South Korean naval ship of going over North Korean waters on the pretext of cracking down on an unidentified ship.
A Breach in Accord
Due to the latest warning shots that have been fired by the two countries, South Korean said this breaches a 2018 inter-Korean accord on reducing military animosities. They also said that this undermines stability on the Korean peninsula.
The agreement was intended to prevent military confrontation by setting up buffer zones based on the existing military demarcation line. However, North Korea is insistent that the NLL is unjust under international law.
Although there are no reports of clashes between the two Koreas, the sea boundary of the Korean peninsula's west coast is a significant trigger between the two and has long been a source of long-running animosities between the two countries.
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The Absence of an Agreement
With the warning shots between the two countries, clearly showed that there is an absence of agreement on a clearly marked sea border. This may also serve as an opportunity for North Korea to revoke the NLL, especially with its growing rivalry between China and Russia.
With this, South Korea's military must be on high alert to prevent naval clashes in the Yellow Sea.
Disputes Over the Sea Boundary
The sea boundary off the west coast of the Korean peninsula became a source of tension after the 1950-1953 Korean War. South Korea believes that the NLL was unilaterally drawn by the US-led United Nations Command at the end of the war in 1953.
On the other hand, North Korea maintains that the NLL is illegal as it was drawn unilaterally by the US and thus, should be replaced with a new sea boundary. With this, North Korea wants the whole west part of the sea to be recognized as its territory.
The South, however, considers the NLL a critical security mechanism that blocks any possible aggression by North Korea and also serves as a necessary lifeline for its fishermen. In addition, it also keeps the US bases in South Korea anchored to the south.
South Korea and North Korea have been unable to agree with each other on how to replace the North Korean side of the sea boundary. This is because the US defends its side of the NLL, which it considers entirely legal.
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Written by April Fowell
