N. Korea tightens control of fishing vessels near border: sources

SEOUL, Sept. 20 (Yonhap) -- North Korea was reportedly tightening control of
fishing boats operating near the inter-Korean maritime border in the West Sea,
informed sources said Sunday.
"The North's patrol vessels are controlling the activities of fishing boats near
the Northern Limit Line (NLL). They are regulating boats that intrude into the
NLL," a government source said, requesting anonymity. The line, which the North
has long disputed, was drawn after the Korea War (1950-53) and acts as the de
facto maritime border between the two countries.
Several hundred North Korean fishing boats routinely operate in the West Sea,
with many often crossing the demarcation line, according to the official.
North Korean patrol boats were found to be positioned by the NLL to monitor the
activities of fishing boats and to ensure that those that cross the border return
to Northern waters, the official said.
Violations of the maritime border by North Korean fishing boats appear to be
caused by a lack of on-board navigational equipment such as global positioning
systems. Patrol boats from the North have been known to venture some 1 to 2km
across the border to bring back stray fishing boats, the official said.
Such voluntary regulation by the North appears to be in line with a series of
conciliatory gestures from Pyongyang towards the South and the United States,
which many observers believe are the result of international sanctions imposed on
the North shortly after its second atomic test in May, the official added.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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