DPRK slams South Korea for intrusions into territorial waters

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Saturday slammed South Korea for what it claims invasions into its territorial waters in the Yellow Sea, labelling those actions as "frantic military provocations."

"Their intrusions that have been perpetrated almost every day this month stretched into Oct. 13 and 14," the official Korean Central News Agency reported.

The news agency claimed that South Korea had infringed on waters of the DPRK five times on Friday alone and that those invasions were made on direct instruction of Chongwadae and the Defense Ministry.

The purpose of the intrusions was to preserve the Northern Limit Line and to seek military clashes in order to prompt the DPRK to take counteractions and then launch preemptive attacks on the North, the news agency said.

The Northern Limit Line, or NLL, is a disputed maritime demarcation line in the Yellow Sea between the DPRK and South Korea. As the DPRK has never officially recognized the NLL, the navies of the two countries patrol the area regularly.

In late May, Pyongyang accused South Korean navy of intruding into DPRK waters and firing shells at a ferryboat, while Seoul claimed that a patrol boat and a fishing boat from the DPRK returned to the North after crossing the NLL after the South Korean military fired warning shots. Endi