NKorea navy warns of possible sea clash with SKorea

SEOUL: North Korea's naval command on Thursday accused South Korean ships of violating its territorial waters in the Yellow Sea and warned that escalating tensions could lead to a clash.
 
The warning came two days after the hardline communist country fired short-range missiles in the Yellow Sea, the scene of bloody naval clashes in 1999 and 2002.

"The situation... has become so tense that a naval clash may break out due to such military provocations as the ceaseless infiltration of warships deep into the (North's) territorial waters," the state news agency KCNA quoted a navy command spokesman as saying.

He accused the South's navy of sending more warships into the North's territorial waters since early September in an attempt to legitmise the disputed sea border known as the Northern Limit Line (NLL).

The two Koreas have remained technically at war since their 1950-1953 conflict ended in a fragile armistice, rather than a peace treaty.

North Korea has never recognised the sea border with the South that was drawn up by a US-led UN Command after the war.

The area was the scene of bloody naval skirmishes in 1999 and again in June 2002, when six South Korean sailors were among the dead.

The North's navy "keeps itself fully combat-ready to deal a crushing blow at the provocateurs any time," the spokesman said.

The North fired up to two short-range missiles into the Yellow Sea on Tuesday in what Seoul officials described as "routine military exercises."

It is preparing up to 10 more short-range missiles for a mass test-launch in the same area, South Korean news reports said Thursday.

Chosun Ilbo newspaper said a US satellite had spotted the North readying the missiles for launch from the Chodo island navy base.

The North has carried out such short-range missile tests at sea many times before. Seoul usually describes them as part of customary drills but analysts say they are sometimes timed to make a political point.

Friday is the anniversary of the founding of the North's ruling communist party. Analysts are closely watching the event to see if top leader Kim Jong-Il, who reportedly suffered a stroke in August, will appear.

And a six-nation nuclear disarmament agreement is deadlocked because of a dispute over verification of the North's nuclear programme.

The US State Department said Wednesday it could not confirm the test-firing but advised the North against such actions.

"It's not helpful in any way to managing tensions within the region," said spokesman Sean McCormack.