N Korea demands sea border with South be redrawn

"We stressed again that our position on the Northern Limit Line in the West [Yellow] Sea is firm."

Colonel Moon Seong-mook, spokesman for South Korean delegation

North Korea pressed South Korea yesterday to discuss redrawing their disputed sea border, the scene of bloody clashes in the past, as the two sides began high-level military talks on easing tensions.

The three-day talks at the frontier village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone come amid a general improvement in relations, after the North shut down nuclear facilities which had produced bomb-making plutonium.

But the North stuck to its earlier demands for a new border in the Yellow Sea, something Seoul rejects. The North refuses to recognize the Northern Limit Line drawn up by UN forces at the end of the 1950-1953 Korean War.

"The North said the issue needs to be discussed. We stressed again that our position on the Northern Limit Line in the West [Yellow] Sea is firm," said Colonel Moon Seong-mook, spokesman for the South Korean delegation, while briefing reporters after the first day.

Six South Koreans were killed in a clash in June 2002 in the area, while in June 1999 a similar skirmish killed dozens of North Korean sailors.

The North says South Korean warships continue to fuel tension by violating its waters in the area, accusations rejected by Seoul as groundless.

Moon said the three hours of talks focused on ways to prevent clashes, a possible joint fishing area, providing military security guarantees for cross-border railways and highways, and other economic cooperation projects.

Trains from the two countries crossed the heavily fortified border on May 17 on test runs. The South wants a regular service to cater to growing economic links, but the North has been unwilling to extend safety guarantees.

North Korea has proposed creating a joint fishing zone in rich crab-fishing grounds south of the Northern Limit Line, while South Korea wants the zone to be established along the line.

A previous round of general-level talks ended fruitlessly in May because of the sea border dispute. Moon described the mood yesterday as "not bad."

The North is also demanding that its cargo ships be allowed to take a short cut home across the sea border and wants joint development around the mouths of cross-border rivers.