ID :
197873
Thu, 07/28/2011 - 14:02
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/197873
The shortlink copeid
Some professors question legitimacy of inter-Korean sea border
SEOUL, July 28 (Yonhap) -- A couple of South Korean professors on Thursday challenged the legitimacy of the disputed sea border with North Korea.
The border, unilaterally drawn by the U.N. forces at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, has served as the de facto maritime boundary between the two Koreas, which still remain technically in a state of war.
However, the North has contested the legitimacy of the border, formally known as the Northern Limit Line (NLL), in recent decades and has demanded that it be redrawn, a request rejected by Seoul.
Lee Chang-wee, a law professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, called into question the allegation that the North has tacitly recognized the border for more than 20 years.
"The NLL is never a boundary that decides the inter-Korean maritime zone," Lee said in a forum in Seoul.
Lee Young-jung, a law professor at Seoul's Dongguk University, also said it cannot be asserted that the border has the validity of international law, noting it was drawn without any agreement.
But other experts have insisted that the border has the validity of international law on the grounds that the North has recognized it as the de facto sea boundary.
North Korea did not dispute the NLL until 1973, when it made a series of intrusions past the crooked line. A 1991 inter-Korean accord urged the two sides to respect the NLL, though it allowed for further negotiations.
Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok reiterated Seoul's position, saying the NLL has served as the de facto maritime boundary and warned of inter-Korean clashes if it is not respected.
The dispute has made the western waters near the border a flash point and has led to three deadly maritime clashes between the two Koreas near the sea border since 1999.
North Korea was also accused of sinking a South Korean warship near the sea border in March last year and shelled a South Korean border island eight months later.
The North denied its involvement in the ship sinking that killed 46 South Korean sailors.
The border, unilaterally drawn by the U.N. forces at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, has served as the de facto maritime boundary between the two Koreas, which still remain technically in a state of war.
However, the North has contested the legitimacy of the border, formally known as the Northern Limit Line (NLL), in recent decades and has demanded that it be redrawn, a request rejected by Seoul.
Lee Chang-wee, a law professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, called into question the allegation that the North has tacitly recognized the border for more than 20 years.
"The NLL is never a boundary that decides the inter-Korean maritime zone," Lee said in a forum in Seoul.
Lee Young-jung, a law professor at Seoul's Dongguk University, also said it cannot be asserted that the border has the validity of international law, noting it was drawn without any agreement.
But other experts have insisted that the border has the validity of international law on the grounds that the North has recognized it as the de facto sea boundary.
North Korea did not dispute the NLL until 1973, when it made a series of intrusions past the crooked line. A 1991 inter-Korean accord urged the two sides to respect the NLL, though it allowed for further negotiations.
Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok reiterated Seoul's position, saying the NLL has served as the de facto maritime boundary and warned of inter-Korean clashes if it is not respected.
The dispute has made the western waters near the border a flash point and has led to three deadly maritime clashes between the two Koreas near the sea border since 1999.
North Korea was also accused of sinking a South Korean warship near the sea border in March last year and shelled a South Korean border island eight months later.
The North denied its involvement in the ship sinking that killed 46 South Korean sailors.
