S. Korea fires warning shots to repel North Korean patrol boat

Seoul: South Korea says it fired warning shots at a North Korean patrol boat that crossed the countries’ disputed western sea boundary.

The North Korean patrol boat had crossed the maritime border line at around 9:30am (00:30 GMT) in pursuit of an "unarmed" boat in the Yellow Sea, the general staff announced on Tuesday.

The patrol boat turned away after the shots were fired.

Reports citing sources said, all crew members and the boat were taken by the South Korean navy to Baengnyeong Island, where they were to be questioned.

According to the Arirang radio station, the boat may have been a fishing boat that drifted. 

The incident occurred one day before the presidential election in South Korea.

The Northern Limit Line (NLL) off the coast of the Korean peninsula is not recognized by North Korea and was drawn unilaterally by a UN command after the 1950-53 Korean War.

The border was also the scene of repeated battles between warships of both countries after the war.

South Korea often fires warning shots to repel North Korean boats crossing the poorly marked sea border, but there have been deadly clashes.

Seoul blamed North Korea for an attack on a South Korean warship that killed 46 sailors in 2010, but the North has denied responsibility