Seoul: A North Korean merchant vessel briefly crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the Yellow Sea, the de facto maritime border between the Koreas, and retreated after South Korea's military fired warning shots, officials reported. The incursion occurred near the South Korean border island of Baengnyeong at around 5 a.m. on Friday, with the vessel advancing up to 5 kilometers south of the NLL before returning northward.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the South Korean military had been closely monitoring the North Korean ship's approach toward the NLL. Despite issuing warning broadcasts, the vessel crossed the maritime boundary, prompting a South Korean Navy vessel to fire dozens of warning shots and shells. The North Korean ship subsequently altered its course westward, retreating from the South's maritime control area. At the time of the breach, a 2,800-ton South Korean Navy convoy was conducting operations in the vicinity.
Officials from the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) noted that there was no detected unusual movement involving the North Korean military linked to the incident as of Friday morning. The military has assessed that the likelihood of the North Korean vessel intentionally crossing the NLL is low. "We will firmly maintain our readiness posture and respond resolutely to any situation to safeguard the NLL," a JCS official stated.
This incident marks the first NLL intrusion by a North Korean vessel in three years. In October 2022, a similar event occurred when a North Korean merchant vessel violated the NLL in the Yellow Sea before retreating after warning shots from a South Korean warship. During that incident, the vessel advanced up to 3.3 kilometers south of the NLL, remaining on the South Korean side for 40 minutes. North Korea does not recognize the NLL as the inter-Korean maritime border, asserting that it should be established farther south. Following the 2022 border crossing, the North Korean military accused the South Korean Navy of violating what it claimed was a maritime border.