The Daecheong incident, also known as the Battle of Daecheong,[2] was a skirmish between the South Korean and North Korean navies near the Northern Limit Line (NLL) on 10 November 2009 off Daecheong Island.
| Daecheong incident | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Korean Conflict | |||||||
 Daecheong Island (numbered 2) | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 North Korea |
 South Korea | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 1 gunboat |
1 frigate 4 patrol boats | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
1 gunboat moderately damaged 8 wounded | 1 patrol boat slightly damaged (with 15 bullet marks) | ||||||
Engagement
editThe incident began at 11:27 am when a North Korean navy patrol boat crossed the NLL, which is not recognised by the DPRK,[3] followed by two verbal warnings from South Korean naval units. After one more warning announcement, one of the South Korean patrol boats fired a warning shot. In response, the North Korean boat began firing at the South Korean ship. This resulted in a short exchange of fire between the sides.[4] The North Korean vessel expended approximately 50 rounds, and the South Korean craft returned fire with 200 rounds.[5]
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the official news agency of North Korea, accused the South Korean Navy of provoking the confrontation at the maritime boundary between the two Koreas. The DPRK news agency reported that:
... the North side let a patrol boat of the Navy of the KPA on routine guard duty promptly go into action to confirm an unidentified object that intruded into the waters of its side.
When the patrol boat was sailing back after confirming the object at about 11:20 a group of warships of the South Korean forces chased it and perpetrated such a grave provocation as firing at it.
The patrol boat of the North side, which has been always combat-ready, lost no time to deal a prompt retaliatory blow at the provokers. Much flurried by this, the group of warships of the South Korean forces hastily took to flight to the waters of their side.[6]
Aftermath
editAfter the battle, South Korea claimed their patrol boat suffered only superficial damage (15 bullet marks on the ship's side) with no casualties, while the fire-gutted North Korean patrol boat was partially destroyed.[citation needed] A news agency in South Korea reported a rumor that North Korea suffered four casualties (one killed and three wounded).[7] On the other hand, a defector said about 10 North Korean sailors were killed in action.[8] The KCNA pressed South Korea to apologize.[6]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Kim, Hyun (November 10, 2009). "N. Korea claims clash occurred on routine duty, demands apology from South". Yonhap. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
- ^ Double-sidedness of North Korea. 길잡이미디어. 30 November 2015.
- ^ Roehrig, Terence (2009). "North Korea and the Northern Limit Line". North Korean Review. 5 (1): 8 – 22.
- ^ Kim, Sam (November 10, 2009). "Koreas clash in Yellow Sea, blame each other". Yonhap. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
- ^ "Seoul Wary of N. Korean Retaliation". The Korea Times. 2009-10-11. Archived from the original on 2009-11-13. Retrieved 2009-10-11.
- ^ a b DPRK Demands S. Korea Apologize for Armed Provocation Archived December 15, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Korean Central News Agency. November 10, 2009.
- ^ "《North and South had battle 7 years absence》 South Korea Defense, Reacted immediately following their battle manual… defeated North Korea ship(《남북 7년만에 서해교전》 軍, 눈치 안보고 교전수칙대로 즉각 대응… 北경비정 격퇴)". Kukmin Daily (국민일보). 2009-10-11. Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
- ^ 드디어 천안함에대한꼬리가잡혓습니다. 필독 (in Korean); Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine