South Korea fires at boat from North

SEOUL — A South Korean naval unit in the Yellow Sea fired shots at a North Korean patrol yesterday for the first time since a wireless hot line was established between the two Koreas last month, apparently rendering the communication system ineffective.

According to statements from the South Korean joint chiefs of staff yesterday, naval forces used the inter-Korean hot line four times to try to contact an intruding North Korean patrol boat, which ventured less than a mile into South Korean waters.

Chinese boats were fishing in the waters at the time, and the North Korean vessel might have been attempting to warn them off. When no reply was received, the South’s forces fired two warning shots at the North’s vessel at 4:47 p.m. After the gunfire, the North’s vessel withdrew almost immediately, at 5:01 p.m.

However, although the incident was almost routine — warning shots were fired in three similar cases last year — it does raise questions about the efficacy of the radio hot line between the two Koreas, established after working-level military talks on June 15 with the aim of preventing these kinds of incidents.

Analysts are not clear about whether the failure of the hot line is because of poor technology and ineffective systems on the North’s side or whether the North is being deliberately provocative in trying to find out how far the South can be pushed.

In recent tests, the South has found that the hot line has worked on some occasions and not on others.

The joint chiefs said they thought the latest intrusion was accidental, but officials added they would bring up the issue of the North’s naval units’ apparent refusal to receive signals in military talks scheduled for next week.

The Northern Limit Line, effectively the sea border between the two Koreas, is not officially recognized by the North, but the communist state generally adheres to it in practice.

In recent years, the coastal waters off the western coast of Korea have become the riskiest flash point on or around the Korean Peninsula. Sailors from both Koreas were killed in maritime clashes off the western coast in 1999 and 2002.

The fishing grounds in the area, rich in crab, are important for both sides, but particularly for the North because seafood exports are one of its few sources of hard currency.