South Korea's military vowed Monday to beef up vigilance around the inter-Korean maritime boundary amid criticism that a North Korean boat drifted across it unchecked over the weekend.
The fishing boat carrying four North Koreans was found adrift off the northeastern coastal city of Samcheok about 130 kilometers away from the Northern Limit Line, the de facto sea border, on Saturday.
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A North Korean fishing boat is being repatriated to the Northern Limit Line by South Korean Navy on Tuesday. (South Korea`s Joint Chiefs of Staff) |
Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said that its overall coastal and maritime defense operations had proceeded "normally," but acknowledged that its radar operation system has "elements that need to be complemented."
"We will maintain a robust vigilance and surveillance posture by crafting supplementary measures," JCS spokesman Col. Kim Jun-rak told reporters during a regular press briefing of the defense ministry.
Some critics argued that maritime border defense appears to have been loosened after the two Koreas set up a buffer zone along the NLL under last year's agreement aimed at reducing tensions and preventing accidental clashes. (Yonhap)
