-Caveat Lector-
S. Korea Sinks N. Korean Ship
By Paul Shin
Associated Press Writer
Monday, June 14, 1999; 10:39 p.m. EDT
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- South Korean warships sank a North Korean torpedo
boat after an exchange of gunfire Tuesday, South Korea's Defense Ministry
said, in an escalation of their high-seas standoff.
``Our patrol boats fired 35mm guns and hit one'' of three torpedo boats, Koo
Bon-hak, a Defense Ministry spokesman said. ``The North Korean ship later
sank. There is no word on casualties yet.''
Col. Hwang Dong-kyu, spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the three
northern torpedo boats shot first and their fire was returned by at least
some of the eight South Korean ships during a 10-minute exchange in contested
waters of the Yellow Sea.
The other two torpedo boats returned to North Korean waters after the
shooting, Hwang said.
One South Korean ship was hit by northern fire, but no casualties were
reported, Hwang said.
The North's official Korean Central News Agency said the northern general
``lodged a strong protest ... against military provocations being committed
by South Korean naval vessels.''
P.J. Crowley, a spokesman for the National Security Council at the White
House, said the Clinton administration was monitoring the situation.
``There are military-to-military talks going on today to discuss this
situation and we are in close touch with the South Korean government
regarding the steps they are taking in response,'' Crowley said.
The United States has about 37,000 troops in South Korea, but there was no
change in their alert status.
The shooting erupted only 40 minutes before generals of the American-led U.N.
Command and North Korea sat down in the border village of Panmunjom to
discuss the tense military standoff, now in its eighth day.
North Korea agreed to the meeting after four of its patrol boats were rammed
and briefly repelled by South Korean naval vessels in the first violent
confrontation last Friday.
Two North Korean patrol boats moved back into the disputed waters shortly
after daybreak Tuesday, escorting about 20 fishing boats, the Defense
Ministry said.
They were later joined by three torpedo boats, which the ministry said began
the shooting. It said the exchange of gunfire continued for about 10 minutes.
North Korean warships have been sailing in and out of the disputed zone since
June 8 in what appeared to be a move to guard northern fishing boats
operating in the area. The zone is a rich crab fishing ground.
The disputed waters lie midway between the North Korean mainland and five
South Korean islands, 60 miles northwest of Seoul. The zone is within the
territorial waters -- 12 nautical miles -- of both sides.
North Korea has contested the sea border since the late 1970s, sending
fishing boats and naval ships into the zone 20 to 30 times a year. But when
challenged by South Korean patrol boats, they usually have withdrawn quickly.
The armistice, signed by the U.N. Command and North Korea, never outlined the
maritime border off the Korean peninsula's central western coast.
The U.N. Command unilaterally demarcated the sea frontier in 1953 and created
a buffer zone south of it to avoid armed clashes.
The standoff overshadows vice-ministerial talks between the two rival Korean
states, to be held in Beijing on Monday to discuss aid and reunions of
separated families in the divided Korean Peninsula.
South Korean officials are concerned that the military tension could hurt the
Beijing talks, the first government-level contact between the two Koreas in
14 months.
The peninsula was divided into communist North Korea and capitalist South
Korea in 1945. They are technically still at war as the Korean War ended with
an armistice, not a peace treaty.
© Copyright 1999 The Associated Press
Back to the top
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic
screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters
and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright
frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects
spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL
gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers;
be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and
nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html
http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
========================================================================
To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
