SEOUL (AFP) - South Korean naval ships fired warning shots to drive away North Korean vessels violating their border in the Yellow Sea, the joint chiefs of staff (JCS) office said.
Three North Korean patrol boats intruded into southern waters near Yeonpyeong Island at 10:54 am (0154 GMT) despite radio warnings, the office said. It said the boats sailed back only after the warning shots were fired.
The border breach lasted 83 minutes and the standoff ended without casualties, the office said.
"Our navy ships fired 10 rounds of shells in warning shots to drive away those North Korean boats violating the NLL (Northern Limit Line) sea border," said a JCS official who identified himself as Major Lee.
"They retreated. There were no casualties."
The JCS said the North Korean boats repeatedly intruded into South Korean waters up to 2.7 miles (4.3 kilometers) south of the NLL, the maritime border between the two sides since the 1950-1953 war.
The North Koreans denied any border breaches.
"We are not violating the border. We are in the middle of checking fishing boats from a third country," a North Korean patrol boat was quoted by the JCS as radioing back.
The JCS confirmed some 80 Chinese boats were fishing nearby.
The sea border is not recognised by the North. Since 1999 there have been dozens of casualties in skirmishes in the area, which is abundant in crabs.
The last clash in June 2002 left six South Korean sailors dead.
Earlier this year military authorities from both Koreas agreed to open radio contacts and share communications signals between their navy vessels in an effort to prevent clashes.
But border violations by North Korea contine, according to the JCS.
The Korean War ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty. North Korea's 1.1 million-strong army faces off against South Korea's 690,000 troops which are backed by more than 30,000 US soldiers.
11/01/2004 - 10:07 GMT - AFP