DPRK takes countermeasure against S. Korea's "warning fire" off west coast

SEOUL, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) forces returned fire in the waters near the Military Demarcation Line early Monday after a South Korean warship opened "warning fire," the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

An escort ship of the South Korean navy opened "warning fire" with the excuse of controlling a ship in the waters 20 km northwest of Paekryong (called Baengnyeong by South Korea) Island, at around 3:50 a.m. local time Monday (1850 GMT, Sunday), the KCNA quoted a spokesman for the General Staff of the Korean People's Army of DPRK as saying.

The DPRK coastal defense units on the western front took a countermeasure to expel the South Korean warship by firing 10 shells of multiple rocket launchers toward the waters, as "threatening and warning fires," the spokesman said in a statement.

On the South Korean side, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday that a DPRK merchant vessel violated the Northern Limit Line in waters near the front-line island of Baengnyeong at 3:42 a.m. local time (1842 GMT, Sunday) and that South Korea's navy issued warning messages and fired warning shots.

The Northern Limit Line is a disputed maritime demarcation line between the DPRK and South Korea, which the DPRK has never officially recognized.