Northern ships may use strait: South Korea<\/p>\n
SEOUL (Reuters): South Korea will allow North Korean
\ncommercial vessels to pass through Cheju Strait at the southern
\ntip of the Korean peninsula if permission is requested prior to
\nsailing, a Defense Ministry spokesman said on Monday.<\/p>\n
\"The National Security Council has decided to let North Korean
\ncommercial ships to pass through the Cheju Strait if they give us
\ninformation prior to sailing through Cheju,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The unprecedented decision was taken at an emergency meeting
\nof the National Security Council on Sunday, a day after three
\nNorth Korean bulk carriers sailed into South Korean waters in the
\nstrait, which separates the mainland from Cheju Island.<\/p>\n
South Korea's Unification Ministry said on Monday it sent a
\nletter to North Korea voicing displeasure over the incident and
\nwarning the South would resort to strong measures if such
\nincursions continued without warning.<\/p>\n
\"We notified (North Korea) that we will resort to strong
\ncountermeasures if such unauthorized incursions happen again
\nwithout notification,\" the ministry said in a statement.<\/p>\n
A ministry spokesman declined to elaborate on what the strong
\nmeasures would be, but said Seoul asked Pyongyang to sign a
\nmaritime treaty that would allow the passage of North Korean
\nvessels through the strait.<\/p>\n
Foreign commercial vessels have a right to sail in South
\nKorean territorial waters without seeking prior permission, but
\nbecause the two Koreas are still technically at war the strait
\nhas been closed to North Korea.<\/p>\n
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) reported on
\nSunday the three commercial vessels, carrying rice and salt,
\ntrespassed into South Korean territorial waters between 11:40
\na.m. (9:40 a.m. Jakarta time) and midnight on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Patrol boats were dispatched to escort the North Korean ships
\ninto international waters. \"It's not supposed to be our call with
\ncommercial vessels under normal circumstances but because it is
\nNorth Korea the military is involved,\" the spokesman said.<\/p>\n
The intrusion by North Korea into the waterway was the first
\nsince the armed truce that ended the 1950-53 Korean War.<\/p>\n
Local newspaper reports quoted military analysts as saying
\nNorth Korea's intrusion was intended to demonstrate its right to
\npass through an international waterway.<\/p>\n
The National Security Council decision will now allow for
\nNorth Korean passage through the strait as long as certain
\nrequirements are met.<\/p>\n
\"North Korea must provide certain information before sailing
\nin Cheju Strait -- when they are sailing, which ships will sail,
\nwhere they are sailing to and what they are carrying,\" the
\nministry spokesman said.<\/p>\n
The Joint Chiefs of Staff sent a letter advising of the change
\nto North Korean authorities through the United Nations Command in
\nPanmunjom earlier on Monday, he said.<\/p>\n
The UN Command is the only contact point between the two
\nKoreas, whose sealed border is the most heavily fortified in the
\nworld.<\/p>\n
\"We allowed the passage of the North Korean vessels through
\nSouth Korean waters as a sign of respect for the June 15th Joint
\nCommunique signed by the leaders of the two Koreas,\" a Defense
\nMinistry statement said on Monday.<\/p>\n
The declaration followed a landmark summit between the two
\nKorean leaders in Pyongyang last June 13-15. But a rapprochement
\nin the heady months following the summit has stalled over North
\nKorea's unhappiness with Washington's more aloof stance since
\nU.S. President George W. Bush took office in January.<\/p>\n
One of the North Korean vessels, the Chongjin No. 2, was
\nheaded to the North Korean port of Haeju on its way back from
\nJapan, a Defense Ministry spokesman said.<\/p>\n
Another, the Ryeongkunbong, was in transit from Japan to China
\nand the third ship, the Baekmagang, was traveling from a western
\nport to an eastern port of North Korea, he said.<\/p>\n
Access to Cheju Strait would save North Korean ships 110 miles
\nin travel distance or about 10 hours traveling time depending on
\nspeed, the spokesman said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/northern-ships-may-use-strait-south-korea-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}