The ROK military fired warning shots after a North Korean merchant vessel crossed over the maritime border in the Yellow Sea on Friday, leading the ship to retreat.

Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) reported that the DPRK ship “intruded” over the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto inter-Korean maritime border, in waters northwest of Baengnyeong Island around 5 a.m. KST.

“Our military broadcast a warning and fired warning shots, after which the North Korean merchant ship retreated from our territorial waters,” JCS said. “Our military closely monitored North Korea’s movements and responded in accordance with operational procedures.”

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