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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