(Yonhap Interview) S. Korean survivor of naval battle with N. Korea returns with a vengeance

By Sam Kim
ABOARD YUN YEONG-HA, South Korea, June 15 (Yonhap) -- Ten years have passed since
South Korean Navy Lt. Cdr. An Ji-young survived multiple shots to his chest and
managed to lead his crew until they destroyed a North Korean patrol boat that had
crossed the western sea border.
An, then a lieutenant, was skippering a patrol boat when the North Koreans opened
fire on it. A bullet-proof suit he had recently started to wear saved him from
being killed, while a piece of shrapnel from an explosion slit the back of his
neck.
"I didn't realize I was hit until I saw blood flowing down my shoulders," An, 39,
said.
Nearly 160 bullets landed on his ship, but no South Korean soldier was killed, An
said. North Korea is believed to have suffered about 30 deaths.
"We had operated anticipating such an attack. We were able to retaliate quickly
and precisely because our guns were automatic, while the North Koreans relied on
manual weapons," he said.
An now skippers the Yun Yeong-ha, a high-speed patrol boat with guided missiles
South Korea has deployed along the Northern Limit Line, or NLL, near which the
skirmish took place.
Tension runs as high as ever along the line after North Korea warned of another
armed conflict in the area earlier this year.
The NLL was unilaterally drawn by a U.S. commander at the end of the 1950-53
Korean War and has served as a de facto border between the Koreas since the war
ended in a truce.
But on June 7, 1999, the North sent a band of patrol boats south of the NLL,
triggering a standoff that ended a little over a week later, when one of them
fired on An's vessel after a series of deliberate bumps between the two sides.
Another battle -- this time killing six South Koreans -- took place near NLL in
2002.
Even though North Korea is believed to have suffered far more casualties, An said
he can't help feeling like he was partly responsible for the deaths of his fellow
South Korean soldiers when he looks back on the 2002 incident.
"I think they were victims of North Korean revenge," he said. "But we've improved
far more since then in terms of weapons, while the North Koreans have stayed
pretty much at the same level."
Setting off an underground atomic explosion on May 25 and vowing to expand its
nuclear weapons programs, North Korea has threatened the safety of South Korean
and U.S. vessels near the NLL.
Sources in Seoul say North Korea has stepped up its naval and air force training
while increasing amphibious assault exercises in the Yellow Sea.
Coastline artillery poses a particular threat, Navy Capt. Park Jae-pil said,
while the Yun Yeong-ha, named after an officer killed in the 2002 clash,
increases the chance of survival for South Korean soldiers because of its
extended missile capabilities.
"If North Korea attacked, it would be based on a completely different strategy,"
he said. "We're making sure we're ready for any scenario that may arise along the
NLL."
An expressed confidence his new ship now provides combat capabilities "impossible
to compare" to what he used to command in 1999.
"We've won before, and we can do it again if we have to," he said.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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