hankyoreh

By Park Byong-su, senior staff writer

South Korean naval vessels attempted to damage a North Korean patrol boat in a targeted strike during an Oct. 7 exchange of fire that erupted at the Northern Limit Line (NLL) near Yeonpyeong Island, it emerged on Oct. 13.

The revelation that the boat was aiming at the North Korean ship to deliver a direct strike means that the exchange was a more fraught situation than was previously claimed - one that could have escalated into a naval battle in the West (Yellow) Sea. Military authorities could have overreacted to a simple crossing of the NLL.

Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) chairman Choi Yoon-hee gave the clarification on the Oct. 7 exchange of fire while speaking at a parliamentary audit of the JCS on Oct. 13 by the National Assembly National Defense Committee.

Responding to Saenuri Party (NFP) lawmaker Kim Sung-chan’s question on whether the navy attempted a damaging strike, which is the next step after warning fire in the rules of engagement, Choi said, “A damaging strike was attempted at the scene.”

Choi went on to say, “A damaging, targeted strike was attempted, but the North Korean vessel returned north of the NLL and mixed in with nearby fishing boats, preventing any further action.”

JCS operational headquarters chief Shin Won-sik also responded affirmatively when asked by Kim whether the South Korean vessel retreated after duds were fired as part of the damaging strike.

The navy’s decision to attempt a targeted, damaging strike against a North Korean boat for crossing the NLL in the West Sea is seen by many as irregular.

“My understanding is that we were responding to the North Korean navy’s counterfire after we fired a warning shot,” said a JCS source on condition of anonymity.

But the eight-kilometer firing range of the North Korean boat‘s 37-mm guns was less than the 8.8 km between the vessels during the skirmish - meaning they did not pose a threat to the South Korean naval ships. North Korea’s unusual response of sending a message of protest to the Blue House Office of National Security may also have been motivated by the excessiveness of the South Korean navy response.

The differences between Choi’s account on Oct. 13 and previous explanations from the JCS are raising questions about a possible cover-up. At the time of the skirmish, the JCS said a South Korean navy high-speed guided missile patrol boat had returned counterfire from the North Korean vessel after its initial warning shot when the North Korean boat crossed 0.5 nautical miles (900 m) south of the NLL. It also insisted at the time that there had been “no targeted fire.”

But Choi’s latest remarks referred to an attempt at a targeted and damaging strike. The information about a dud had also been absent from previous accounts.

The response to the revelations prompted one JCS officer to meet separately with reporters to explain.

“At the time of the incident, a South Korean navy high-speed guided missile patrol boat fired five warning shots with 76-mm guns, and the North Korean patrol boat returned fire with several dozen rounds from 37-mm guns,” the officer said.

“In response, the guided missile patrol boat and two high-speed boats that had been nearby returned fire with 14 rounds from 76-mm guns and 80 rounds from 40-mm guns, some of which were intended to damage,” the officer continued.

The officer also said the shells fired by the North Korean boat fell short of the South Korean vessel and caused no damage.

“We could not confirm if there was damage to the North Korean patrol boat because it immediately returned north of the NLL,” the officer explained.

The same source also clarified about the blind shells.

“While the guided missile patrol boat was firing, there were dud, first with one of the 76-mm guns and then with one of the 40-mm guns mounted on it,” the source said. “There were period of five and ten minutes when the guns did not work.”

“But two nearby high-speed boats filled in with their 40-mm guns, so there was no problem,” the officer added.

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