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N. Korea demands apology from South over naval clash
SEOUL, Nov. 10 (Yonhap) -- North Korea demanded an apology from South Korea over a naval clash on the western sea border on Tuesday, calling the skirmish a "grave armed provocation" by the South that targeted a patrol boat on routine duty.
"Today the north side let a patrol boat of the Navy of the KPA (Korean People's Army) on routine guard duty promptly go into action to confirm an unidentified object that intruded into the waters of its side," the North's Supreme Command of the KPA said in a report carried by the Korean Central News Agency.
The patrol boat was "sailing back after confirming the object," the report said, when "a group of warships of the South Korean forces chased it and perpetrated such a grave provocation as firing at it," the command said.
The North's military also warned that it was "always combat-ready."
Naval boats of the two Koreas opened fire on each other shortly before midday on the Yellow Sea border, where bloody skirmishes occurred in 1999 and 2002.
No South Korean casualties were reported, but North Korea's patrol boat retreated after apparently suffering "considerable" damage near Baekryeong island, according to a Navy official in South Korea.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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