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No sighting of N. Korean leader since naval skirmish with S. Korea: official
By Sam Kim
SEOUL, Nov. 16 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has yet to make a public appearance after his country's navy clashed with its South Korean counterpart last week, a defense official here said Monday.
"He appears to be refraining from making trips after the incident" even though he showed up in official media shortly after each of the two previous naval skirmishes in 1999 and 2002," Lt. Gen. Hwang Joong-sun said at a parliamentary hearing.
The navies of the divided countries engaged for the first time in seven years last week near the Northern Limit Line (NLL) that remains one of the most volatile flash points in the region.
Hwang said North Korea has beefed up its guard at artillery, air force and naval bases along the Yellow Sea border, while the South has reinforced its forces along the Demilitarized Zone.
"We have so far achieved relative superiority over the enemy" at the Joint Security Area that sits on the land border between the countries, he said without elaborating. South and North Korea remain technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce.
Hwang added the naval forces in the Yellow Sea have been augmented but deployed far enough from the border to be insulated from attacks by North Korean missile and artillery bases.
In the Nov. 10 skirmish near the NLL -- a line that Pyongyang refuses to honor -- a North Korean boat retreated in flames while South Korea suffered no casualties, according to Seoul officials.
On Sunday, the North Korean forces briefly activated their fire-control radar system that covers the area, forcing South Korean patrol boats to scramble away from the border.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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