DATE=9/2/1999 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT TITLE=NORTH KOREA / BORDER (L-ONLY) NUMBER=2-253356 BYLINE=HYUN SUNG KHANG DATELINE=SEOUL CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: North Korea has threatened to take action over a disputed sea border with neighboring South Korea. It says that the so-called "Northern Limit Line," separating the waters of the two countries, is invalid. As Hyun-Sung Khang reports, from the South Korean capital, Seoul, the dispute previously sparked a military clash between the two Koreas. TEXT: North Korea says the sea border, which bisects the waters west of the Korean peninsula is illegal. In a statement published by the country's media, the North accused the United States of unilaterally defining the border. It pledged to defend its own self-declared demarcation line by -- in the words of the statement -- various means and methods. Pyongyang did not elaborate on what actions it would take. But South Korea's Defense Ministry has dismissed the North Korean statement. Ministry spokesman Yoon Il- Young described it as North Korea's "old, worn-out tactics,'' and said Seoul remained resolute in its determination to defend the area. The dispute was raised at a failed meeting between the United States-led United Nation's Command and North Korea, on Wednesday. North Korea wants the sea line to be redrawn, moving it further south. The U-N Command urged the North to resolve the issue in talks between the two Koreas. But Pyongyang -- which maintains that South Korea is a puppet of the United States -- insists the subject be discussed only between itself and the United States. The border in the Yellow Sea was created by the United Nations in 1953, following the Korean War. Although Pyongyang has refused to recognize it, the North largely honored the line until two months ago. In June, tensions in the Yellow Sea boiled over when a naval clash resulted in the sinking of a North Korean gunboat and the deaths 30 North Koreans. It was one of the worst military exchanges between North and South Korea, which have remained technically at war since the 1950-53 conflict. The renewed tension over the sea border comes ahead of talks which will be held later this month in Berlin, between representatives of North Korea and the United States. The two sides are expected to discuss Pyongyang's missile program amid suspicions that the country may be planning to test fire a new long-range ballistic missile. NEB/HSK/GC/FC 02-Sep-1999 03:21 AM LOC (02-Sep-1999 0721 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .
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