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A North Korean patrol boat crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the West Sea, the de facto sea boundary between the two Koreas, near Baengnyeong Island on Saturday afternoon to seize an illegally fishing Chinese fishing boat, the Joint Chiefs of Staff announced.
The North Korean patrol boat returned to the North 25 minutes after it crossed the NLL, tugging a Chinese fishing boat. It was the third NLL crossing by North Korean patrol boats this year, but it is quite rare for them to return with a seized Chinese fishing boat in tow.
Crossing the NLL, the North Korean patrol boat radioed that it was cracking down on third-country fishing boats illegally operating in the waters. A South Korean patrol boat received the message and warned the North Korean vessel from crossing the NLL, but the North Korean boat reportedly ignored the warning and crossed over anyway.
Over 50 Chinese fishing boats were reportedly fishing illegally near the NLL when the North Korean patrol boat crossed the boundary.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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