Since the end of the Korean War, the two Koreas have been embroiled in a dispute over their maritime boundary in the Yellow Sea: the Northern Limit Line (NLL).

The boundary has been a source of tension and violence between North and South Korea for decades. Naval skirmishes were fought along the line in 1999 and 2002, along with scores of incidents every year involving fishing boats and naval vessels, largely North Korean, that cross the line.

The NLL remains one of the most dangerous zones of conflict on the Korean Peninsula.

Those who write about the NLL identify its