-Caveat Lector- S. Korea Heightens Attack Alert By SANG-HUN CHOE .c The Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Communist North Korea sent patrol boats across a disputed sea border Saturday after threatening to attack South Korean warships in contested waters of the Yellow Sea. The American-led U.N. Command, which oversees the fragile truce between the two bitter rivals, urged North Korea Saturday - for a third time this week - to hold a border military meeting to end the standoff. ``It's everyone's interest to reduce tensions,'' said command spokesman Col. Carl Kropf. The North has rejected two previous appeals. The armed standoff in the Cold War's last flashpoint entered its fifth day Saturday, with the two Koreas hardening their stances after their ships nearly opened fire Friday. North Korea warned South Korea that it must withdraw its warships from the area, a rich fishing ground, or face military strikes. South Korea canceled weekend leaves for soldiers and massed more destroyers, frigates and even landing ships near the area and put its 650,000 military on heightened alert. Three to six North Korean patrol boats returned and sailed in and out of the disputed area Saturday in choppy waters off the west cost. The Defense Ministry released video footage of South Korean ships moving in sudden, threatening spurts near the intruders. ``We are engaged in the standoff with a resolve to defend our sovereignty and territory,'' President Kim Dae-jung was quoted as saying by his office. ``Our ships are ready to butt the North Korean intruders again and do whatever is needed to repel them,'' said Col. Hwang Dong-kyu, a spokesman for the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff. ``But for now, we are closely watching and weighing various options.'' Friday, navy ships from both sides trained their guns at each other and nearly opened fire when South Korean ships rammed and briefly repelled four North Korean patrol boats. A spokesman for North Korea's military responded later in a statement, saying that if South Korean ships ``continue reckless provocations despite our repeated warnings, they will meet with our strong self-defense strikes.'' ``There is a limit to patience,'' said the statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. The disputed waters lie south of a U.N.-imposed sea border, midway between the North Korean mainland and five South Korean islands, 60 miles northwest of Seoul. North Korea has contested the sea border since the late 1970s, sending fishing boats and naval ships into the zone 20 to 30 times a year. But when challenged by South Korean patrol boats, they usually have withdrawn quickly. North Korean warships have been sailing in and out of the area since Tuesday, escorting a fleet of fishing vessels. This time, however, they refused to leave for up to 18 hours, creating a tense standoff with South Korean warships. The two Koreas, divided into the communist North and the capitalist South in 1945, remain technically at war, with no peace treaty signed at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. The armistice, signed by the U.N. Command and North Korea, never outlined the border in the Yellow Sea off the western coast. The U.N. Command unilaterally demarcated the maritime frontier in 1953 and created a buffer zone south of it to avoid armed clashes. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
