16 October 2009 / REUTERS , SEOUL
North Korea accused the South on Thursday of intruding into its territorial waters, further raising tension on the peninsula already heightened by the North's launch this week of a barrage of short-range missiles.
The allegations and a threat to attack the South's ships add a new facet to mixed messages coming out of the North in recent days. These also include moves to defuse tensions by reaching out to foes South Korea and the United States for discussions. "The reckless military provocations by warships of the South Korean navy have created such a serious situation that a naval clash may break out between the two sides in these waters," the North's KCNA news agency quoted a military official as saying. Analysts said the North may be trying to show that it is willing to raise the stakes to increase its bargaining leverage with Seoul and regional powers. "They don't want to come to the negotiating table looking weak," said Cho Myung-chul, a former academic in North Korea who defected to the South and is now an analyst at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy. The two Koreas have fought two deadly naval battles in disputed waters off the west coast of the peninsula in the past 10 years.
