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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| S. Korea military on alert after naval clash |
| 2009-11-12 |
| South Korea's military is on full alert for any retaliatory moves by the North following a brief naval clash in the yellow sea on Tuesday. The South Korean Defense Ministry has ordered commanders in charge of border areas to step up surveillance and immediately respond to any provocation. North and South Korean navies engaged Tuesday in an exchange of fire off their west coast, leaving a North Korean naval boat severely damaged. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak called an emergency high-level meeting after the incident. The United States warned Pyongyang on Tuesday against escalation of tension in the Korean peninsula following the naval clash. "I would say to the North Koreans that we hope that there will be no further actions in the Yellow Sea that could be seen as an escalation," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on Tuesday. The clash took place on Tuesday morning when a South Korean warship shot at a North's navy boat that crossed the disputed western sea border. The two Koreas accused each other of 'armed provocation' and demanded an apology after the naval confrontation. "[Tuesday's] clash took place as the North Korean side disregarded our verbal warnings and warning shots and directly attacked our speedboats," South Korean Prime Minister Chung Un-chan told a parliamentary session. "It was an accidental clash, so we ask the people to have confidence in our military and government and carry on with their daily lives as usual." Similar skirmishes in 1999 and 2002 between the two Koreas caused dozens of casualties. |
| Posted by:Fred |