N. Korea accuse S. Korean Navy of violating its sea border

North Korea's state-run media accused the South Korean Navy of violating its sea border Monday amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
 
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) monitored in Seoul said warships from the South violated its waters in the Yellow Sea around 4:30 a.m. on Sunday. It claimed that South Korea pushed 19 fishing boats into waters Pyongyang claims at its own.
  
The news wire said that the move was aimed at triggering a response from the North that could be used by Seoul to blame Pyongyang for any mishaps that could have arisen.
  
The KCNA then said that the South is using such provocations to insist on maintaining the arbitrarily drawn sea demarcation line that separates the two Koreas. The North has rejected the validity of the Northern Limit Line that is the de facto sea border between the two countries.
  
The two Koreas have clashed several times along the NLL.
  
South Korean sources said that the North's media seems to be referring to an incident involving local fishermen capturing two small Chinese boats operating illegally in South Korean territorial waters.
  
During the incident that took place near Yeonpyeong Island just south of the demarcation line, the Navy mobilized seven missile and gun-armed ships to the region to guard against possible provocations by the North targeting South Korean fishing boats.

Local fishermen had taken the initiative to capture the Chinese boats without getting permission from the authorities.
  
South Korea's Coast Guard, meanwhile, said that it will seek arrest warrants for the Chinese captains of the two boats over illegal fishing operations. (Yonhap)