South Korea fired warning shots at North’s patrol boat: Seoul

According to AFP, South Korea captured an unarmed North Korean boat with seven crew members and fired a warning shot at a patrol vessel that attempted to assist.

According to a defense ministry official, a North Korean patrol boat breached the de facto maritime border off the peninsula’s west coast early Tuesday while chasing a vessel traveling south.

According to the official, the South Korean navy fired a warning shot at the North Korean patrol boat, which turned around and returned to the North.

Authorities are questioning the seven crew members of the seized boat, according to a defense ministry spokesman.

According to Yonhap, the crew members admitted to crossing the maritime border due to a “navigation error” and “vigorously demanded” a return to the North.

The official from the defense department refused to corroborate such details, citing an ongoing investigation. The event occurs as South Koreans vote in a presidential election on Wednesday, as tensions in the region rise as the North conducts a record-breaking barrage of weapons tests this year.

According to Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, a patrol boat crossing the de-facto maritime border “would surely take on a political dimension because it occurred on the eve of South Korea’s presidential election.”

North Korea normally wants speedy repatriation of citizens, but he believes the pandemic will complicate this.

This article has been posted by a News Hour Correspondent. For queries, please contact through [email protected]
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