960420

DPRK patrol boats

return after

crossing border

SEOUL: Two North Korean patrol boats briefly crossed what South Korea calls the "Northern Limit Line" on Friday before returning to their territorial waters, Seoul's Defence Ministry said on Saturday.

The ministry said two of a flotilla of seven boats entered South Korean waters in the Yellow Sea around 11:50 a.m. (0250 GMT) on Friday and left around 13:20 p.m. (0420 GMT) after facing warnings from South Korean navy patrol boats.

It said there was no clash.

A ministry official said South Korean navy had stepped up surveillance in the area.

The limit line was set by the United Nations Command after the 1950-53 Korean War, but has never been officially acknowledged by Pyongyang.

"We don't think the intrusion on Friday was a violation of the armistice accord," the ministry official said. But he added that the North had approved the line tacitly.

Earlier this month, North Korea sent solders into the Demilitarized Zone dividing North and South Korea on three occasions.

The U.N. Command dubbed the intrusions as a violation of the armistice accord that ended the Korean War.-Reuter