Brief Naval Engagement along NLL

[A Can of Man]

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE5A90FC20091110

There was a brief naval clash near Beakryoung-do which is near the North-South Korea Northern Limit Line.
The North Korean patrol ship entered South Korean waters, refused to leave after being warned and returned fire when South Korea fired some warning shots.
The engagement ended with the South Korean ship riddling the North Korean one with bullets.

The motive is yet to be determined but I wouldn't be surprised if it were multiple.
One probably has something to do with President Obama's upcoming Asia tour... why invest in billboards when you can have a naval engagement?
The North Koreans may have been surprised. The naval ROEs regarding North Korean ships in South Korean waters have been... shall we say... simplified. irate2:

http://news.chosun.com/site/data/ht...html?Dep0=chosunnews&Dep1=hotnews&Dep2=news01 (Korean)

http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/11/10/2009111001358.html (Korean)
Reports 1 NK dead and 3 wounded. 15 bullet holes found on South Korean patrol boat but no casualties according to the South Korean Chairman of Joint Chiefs.


Interesting thing I'm reading down at the comments.
Lots of criticism (and that's a nice word for some of the things they're saying) is directed at the late Kim Dae-jung for his sunshine policy.
Usually it's not what you read on Korean message boards. One guy I think was talking about Noh Moo-hyeon (the guy who committed suicide) but it's replaced with "OO" instead of his name. Maybe because it's not been too long since his suicide.

Possible motivations:
- Profile raising for President Obama's visit.
- Measuring the South Korean Naval response (and seeing how this is affected by the political climate in South Korea).
- Raise anti-South Korean sentiment in North Korea by claiming the North had been harassed.

Or any combination of the above... or all of the above.
At this point it's a bit early to tell.

The warning shots were fired at 1136 Hours on Nov 10th 2009 and the North Koreans and South Koreans exchanged accurate gunfire at 1137.
There's also some shouting in the press about how the 130 ton South Korean ship with lighter armament than the 215 ton North Korean ship won the shootout.
http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/11/10/2009111001407.html

 

[Mikefrombelgium]

go South Korea go!!! kick them communist asses

 

[blue]

[FONT=맑은 고딕]North Korea never learn anything from their experiences. There were three Navy Battle between South Korea and North Korea in the past decade. The first battle, South Korean Navy crushed North Korean Navy when N. Korean Navy invaded and crossed the NLL border line. S.Korean Navy did not use any weapon because they were worried about that it may expand the scale of war and may lead to the second Korean War. So basically, S.Korean Navy ships hitted the N.Korean ships and pushed them into North. It was so closed that both South and North Korean soldiers could see each others faces on the deck. Some of N.Korean ships were sunk and they fled to North. Many of N.Korean soldiers were dead and injured while none of S.Koreans navy soldiders were injured or dead. In The second battle, a N.Korea ship suddenly attacked S.Korean small navy ship when it patrols to protect South Korean fishing boats. N.Korean navy ship stroke the control deck on S.Korean naval ship in the first shot. It was so suddent that South Korea did not expect that N.Korea would fire on them. The captain the the S.Korean Navy ship was killed immediately at the first cannon shot. The control cabin was burned and South Korean soldiers could not control its ship anymore. The electic power of the ship also gone. So, south Korean navy changed the naval gun into manual mode and fought back to N.Korean ship. Some of S.Korean soldiers shooted with machine gun even though their fingers were cutted out by the shot wonds. N.Korean focused on shooting on S.Korean navy deck. Many of South KOrean soldiered were injured and were killed. Even if the there was no power and the captain was killed, south korean soldiers grasped weapons and did their best to protect its civilian fishing boats from N.Korea. A one medic soldier in the S.korean navy ship ran around the deck to save his comrades. He fatally wounded and was died later. The S.Korean Navy ship was finally sunk and I guessed nine were killed. N.Korean Navy ships ran away to North Korean Ocean when S.Korean Navy ships chased them. The left wing party in the S.Korean Government ordered S.Korean Navy not to fight back to N.Korea. It was order from President Kim Dea Jung of S.Korea. Because of this order, South Korea could not effective responded to N.Korean attack. The thrid battle was happend this year and this time the right wing party dominated S.Korean Government. They order S.korean Navy to use every sources to protect its country and never tolerate any provocations from N.Korea. When N.Korean ship crossed NLL border line S.Korean ships warned three times to go back to North side. And it fired one warning shot to go back when the N.Korean Navy ship was too close to S.Korean navy ships. But S.Korean ships tried not to strike N.Korean ship because it was simply a warning shot. But North Korean Navy started shooting directly to a S.Korean Navy ship. S.Korean Navy ship ,at this time, immediately react and shot aggresively to N.Korean ship. No injuries in S.Korean Navy while there were many casualties in N.Korean Navy. Finally, N.Korea Navy fled to North side. I really cannot trust N.Korea. My father was in South Korea Navy Helicopter pilot. He always stayed in the Navy base because there were many emergency situations. I barely saw my dad when I was a kid. I also have to serve in S.Korean military for 2-3years since it is mendatory. I will protect my country no matter what. I won't let any other countries to occupy my country again. Only blood and steel can keep the nation safe. [/FONT]