LOC12:16
09:16 GMT
Korea
TOKYO, Feb 19 (KUNA) -- North Korea has raised the possibility of a further
show of force in the East and Yellow seas by temporarily designating six
regions along its maritime border with South Korea as "naval firing zones,"
South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported Friday.
North Korea has unilaterally notified the South it will conduct artillery
fire drills in four areas in the Yellow Sea and two areas in the East Sea for
three days from Saturday, Seoul's National Oceanographic Research Institute
said on its Web site, according to Yonhap.
North Korea has warned South Korean ships to stay clear of the areas from 7:
00 a.m. through 8:00 p.m. Saturday through Monday, it said.
The designated regions are all in North Korea's own territory, north of the
Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto maritime border between the two
Koreas, according to the report.
Pyongyang's newest notification comes less than a month after it raised
military tensions by firing artillery shells into its waters near the sea
border for three consecutive days.
The North has designated naval firing zones two times this month, each for
two or three days, but never actually conducted the drills. From January
27-29, the North is estimated to have fired around 350 rounds in the Yellow
Sea waters north of the NLL.
The NLL was unilaterally drawn by the US-led UN Command at the end of the
1950-1953 Korean War, and the North has refused to honor it. The two sides
fought bloody skirmishes near the border in 1999, 2002 and in November last
year. (end)
mk.ema
KUNA 191216 Feb 10NNNN