North Korea patrol boat crosses maritime border

4.00pm

SEOUL - South Korea said today a North Korean patrol boat had briefly crossed the Koreas' disputed maritime border in pursuit of Chinese fishing vessels.

The North Korean boat crossed the Yellow Sea border at 9:46am local time (12.46 NZT) and returned to the North 14 minutes later after a South Korean navy vessel was deployed, a defence ministry spokesman said.

The ministry said the North Korean patrol boat had been chasing about 30 Chinese fishing vessels in the area when it crossed the border.

The two Koreas remain technically at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armed truce rather than a peace treaty. The Demilitarised Zone separating them is the most heavily fortified frontier in the world.

- REUTERS