S. Korea Heightens Attack Alert 6-12-99

Saturday June 12 6:23 PM ET

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<b><font size=5>S. Korea Heightens Attack Alert</b></font>

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<i>By SANG-HUN CHOE Associated Press Writer</i>

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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Communist North Korea sent patrol boats across a disputed sea

border Saturday after threatening to attack South Korean warships in contested waters of the Yellow Sea.

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The American-led U.N. Command, which oversees the fragile truce between the two bitter rivals, urged North Korea Saturday

- for a third time this week - to hold a border military meeting to end the standoff.

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``It's everyone's interest to reduce tensions,'' said command spokesman Col. Carl Kropf. The North has rejected two previous

appeals.

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The armed standoff in the Cold War's last flashpoint entered its fifth day Saturday, with the two Koreas hardening their stances

after their ships nearly opened fire Friday.

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North Korea warned South Korea that it must withdraw its warships from the area, a rich fishing ground, or face military

strikes.

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South Korea canceled weekend leaves for soldiers and massed more destroyers, frigates and even landing ships near the area

and put its 650,000 military on heightened alert.

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Three to six North Korean patrol boats returned and sailed in and out of the disputed area Saturday in choppy waters off the

west cost.

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The Defense Ministry released video footage of South Korean ships moving in sudden, threatening spurts near the intruders.

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``We are engaged in the standoff with a resolve to defend our sovereignty and territory,'' President Kim Dae-jung was quoted

as saying by his office.

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``Our ships are ready to butt the North Korean intruders again and do whatever is needed to repel them,'' said Col. Hwang

Dong-kyu, a spokesman for the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff. ``But for now, we are closely watching and weighing various

options.''

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Friday, navy ships from both sides trained their guns at each other and nearly opened fire when South Korean ships rammed

and briefly repelled four North Korean patrol boats.

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A spokesman for North Korea's military responded later in a statement, saying that if South Korean ships ``continue reckless

provocations despite our repeated warnings, they will meet with our strong self-defense strikes.''

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``There is a limit to patience,'' said the statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

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The disputed waters lie south of a U.N.-imposed sea border, midway between the North Korean mainland and five South

Korean islands, 60 miles northwest of Seoul.

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North Korea has contested the sea border since the late 1970s, sending fishing boats and naval ships into the zone 20 to 30

times a year. But when challenged by South Korean patrol boats, they usually have withdrawn quickly.

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North Korean warships have been sailing in and out of the area since Tuesday, escorting a fleet of fishing vessels. This time,

however, they refused to leave for up to 18 hours, creating a tense standoff with South Korean warships.

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The two Koreas, divided into the communist North and the capitalist South in 1945, remain technically at war, with no peace

treaty signed at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.

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The armistice, signed by the U.N. Command and North Korea, never outlined the border in the Yellow Sea off the western

coast.

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The U.N. Command unilaterally demarcated the maritime frontier in 1953 and created a buffer zone south of it to avoid armed

clashes.