N Korea disputes sea border

The North Korean government charged Saturday that South Korea is trying to enforce an illegal border in the Yellow Sea. The Korean Central News Agency, an official arm of the government of North Korea, accused the South of "reckless military provocations that have created a touch-and-go situation in the West Sea of Korea," Yonhap News Agency reported. KCNA was referring to an incident Sept. 21 when South Korean naval vessels fired warning shots after North Korean fishing boats crossed the line drawn by U.N. forces at the end of the Korean War. A spokesman for the North Korean National Defense Commission called the border "an illegal ghost-like line." The North does not recognize the sea border, and there have been a number of clashes along it. Gen. Jung Seung-Jo, chairman of the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the military is ready to respond if North Korea uses military force. "Our military has drastically bolstered its capabilities and readiness to sternly punish enemy provocations with teeth-gritting determination," Jung said. "We have to be thoroughly prepared to get our system to work perfectly in case of enemy provocations."