DoD News Briefing
Tuesday, June 15, 1999 - 2:00 p.m.
Presenter: Mr. Kenneth H. Bacon, ASD PA
............. Q: Can we shift to North Korea?
Mr. Bacon: Please, yes. I actually have to leave in a couple of minutes, so I'd like to finish this quickly.
Q: What do you know about the situation over there, about what happened?
Mr. Bacon: What do I know about it?
Q: Yes.
Mr. Bacon: Well, I know that there has been a confrontation between North Korean patrol boats, perhaps joined by some fishing boats on the one hand, and South Korean boats.
Obviously, we take any security challenge in this area, security ripple in this area very seriously. But it does seem to have quieted down since the events of early on June 15th, Korean time.
Let me explain basically what happened. There is a line that is called the Northern Limit Line that runs out into the ocean between South Korea and North Korea. The North Koreans have always resented this line. There have been many skirmishes in the past, maybe hundreds over the last 40 or so years, challenging this line. Some challenges began several days ago, I think on June 11th, and there was an incident where a North Korean boat came across the line and a South Korean boat bumped it to sort of bump it back across the line. Without firing, it was an effort to block the North Korean boat from coming across the Northern Limit Line.
Then on the 15th there was another bumping incident, but this time the bumped boat sank. The bumped North Korean boat sank, and there was fire exchanged between the North and South Korean boats. And another boat was hit and we don't know whether it sank or not at this stage. It's dark over there so we don't have a good view of what happened. And several other North Korean boats were apparently damaged.
Q: (inaudible)
Mr. Bacon: We presume hit by projectiles. Several other North Korean boats were damaged.
The North Koreans disengaged and pulled back. As I said, it's been relatively quiet since this incident occurred.
There were some talks about this issue. General officer talks at Panmunjom began in the morning and lasted for about an hour and a half. Since then, as I said, it's been relatively calm there.
Q: What other additional reconnaissance assets has the U.S. put in in the region to keep an eye on things?
Mr. Bacon: We're keeping an eye on it, but we don't get too detailed about reconnaissance in situations like this.
Q: Were there any U.S. personnel actually there, either on board or nearby, watching this happen, this bumping?
Mr. Bacon: I do not believe so.
Q: The paper said South Korean troops are on high alert. How about the 2nd Infantry?
Mr. Bacon: I'm not aware that there's any change in the U.S. alert status at this stage. We're generally on a pretty high state of alert there.
Q: Will there be any--I believe there's a carrier visit scheduled. Is it going to be speeded up in any way?
Mr. Bacon: I don't know that. We'll check into it.
Q: Where is that line? Is it along the 38th Parallel? Is it...
Mr. Bacon: Yeah, it's about along--it's sort of an extension of the 38th Parallel, although it does curve. We should have a big map here that we could roll down in moments like this, and we could all be educated. Once we get the phone system working, we'll work on maps. (Laughter)
Q: It wasn't part of the original agreement at Panmunjom, right?
Mr. Bacon: This is something that--I don't know the history of it. We'll try to find out when this line was declared.
Q: Do you see any higher state of alert on the northern side of the border? Are they taking any unusual preparations that you've observed?
Mr. Bacon: They, obviously, the forces in the area are both on an increased state of alert, both the Republic of Korea forces and the North Korean forces, the DPRK forces. But we don't see signs of a wider North Korean alert at this stage.
Obviously, the U.S. position is that the North Koreans should refrain from provocative acts and that both sides should be as restrained as possible in not allowing disputes that occur from time to time to spin out of control.
Q: Could you describe a little bit more the boats involved? Are these frigates, are they coastal patrol kinds of small craft? What are they?
Mr. Bacon: They vary in size, shape, and technology. There's a wide variety of North Korean boats, and I couldn't really tell you what size. Some have crews of 20 to 30, I understand, and others have crews of maybe four or five people. I'm afraid I don't know what the South Korean patrol boats were.
Q: Do you have a casualty estimate?
Mr. Bacon: I don't have a very reliable casualty estimate, no.
Thanks.
Press: Thank you.
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jun1999/t06151999_t0615asd.html
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