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Three North Korean patrol vessels on Monday violated the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the West Sea (Yellow Sea) repeatedly and retreated after receiving warning shots from South Korean warships. The North's basic strategy is to render the sea boundary between the two Koreas nominal by disturbing our waters whenever occasion demands. This time around, the North seems to have intentionally raised the level of provocation by having three vessels violate our waters here and there at the same time and not quickly retreating even after warning shots were fired.
The North's attitude is strongly suspected of being aimed at testing our national security responses. The latest NLL violations should not be regarded as unrelated to our moderation in July of NLL operations rules. The new rule calls for grasping the intent of violations on the part of North Korean vessels before firing warning shots. In the wake of North Korean vessels' NLL violations in July, furthermore, our naval officers were reprimanded by the commander-in-chief of the armed forces -- namely the president -- over some reporting mishap, let alone being commended for their repulsion of North Korean patrol boats. North Korea must have been tempted to provoke us.
We are now undergoing serious conflict and confusion over our perception of North Korea regarding the National Security Law issue and the question of whether or not to call the North our main enemy. As to the cutting of three layers of wire fences along the DMZ, the military authorities have done nothing but issuing an unconvincing explanation that it was the work of a South Korean defecting North. Objects suspected to be North Korean submersibles have appeared off the east coast, but our military has been lukewarm in countering them.
We cannot help but to be concerned that our national security might be flawed both inside and outside. The administration, which is bent on quietly conducting projects supporting the North, abstains from voting in world conferences whenever North Korean human rights issues are raised, and pretend not to see North Korean defectors. But North Korea, being either aware or unaware of such intentions on the part of the South Korean ruling forces, incites, shakes and tests us whenever it feels bored.
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